Keeping a secret
by BirdHummingAlong
Summary: AR. Kagome has discovered a secret well to the Feudal Era, so has Inuyasha. One a king of demons, the other a renagade preistess. As a sudden highschool friendship blooms between them, they fight to keep their secret identities and world from each other. What happens when one of them figures it out?
1. Chapter 1 shining eyes

_**A/N I do not own Inuyasha nor any of it's characters, but on that note, I wish I did-but no, not all dreams *wipes straying tear* come true. **_

**Chapter one, Shining Eyes**

**O.O**

Kagome carefully tucked a floating lock of her hair behind her ear as she perched forward on the rock for a better view of the sea falling hard on the gold flecked sands. The sunsets golden rays reflecting off its tumbling surface and into the shining eyes of Kagome. '_So beautiful'_ she thought; with the deep glow of the sun shading everything around her in warmth it was inconcievable to think otherwise. Even she felt more attractivein its setting. Beautiful, delicate, and free, sitting on that rock bathed in the friendly rays. The sweet yet salty sea breeze softly tousling her hair as she lightly kicked her dangling feet against the sturdy granite stone of the cliff. And that was why she loved it.

Kagome had watched the sun make its illustrious exit many times. It was a summer hobby of hers, to put on a sweeping summer dress after spending the day in the commotion of an not so average teen age girl, and come to the wooded almost exclusive side of Tokyo Beach for some alone time with her jumbled thoughts and an always welcoming sunset.

No sunset was the same; some set more of a pink and purple color in the sky, while others crimson and yellow. But in one way all of the sunsets were the same to Kagome, they were always _warm_. Warmth is what Kagome craved in the sunsets, the last sputtering rays that filled the sky with its unwavering beauty flooded Kagome's insides with a mystifying flush. Like sipping a hot drink of cocoa on a rainy day in front of the angry crackle of a dying fire. It was also mysterious and magical, as if she were witnessing a real life nutcracker storey, as if she were a part of its enchantment.

Kagome's mind always cleared when she was out there, preparing it for the bumbling and bustling next day at Naraku's Great Coffee Carnival, and the hectic nights of '_that place'_. She didn't even know why it was called a carnival, there were no dancing animals, it would be awesome if there were, but no… there aren't—It was just a regular coffee house.

"CLINK.. DINK.. BINK…PLOP."

Kagome looked quizzically her left in time to see a bottle bounce off the high rocks of the cliff near by, and into the eagerly waiting ocean bellow. " Hojo you BASSTARD!" a drunken male voice slurred loudly. Kagome watched with wide eyed horror as her secluded, magical, secret place was invaded by a scruffy drunk boy with a teeny tiny ponytale and a meek tall boy who seemed to be folding in upon himself as the other boy continued to verbally shoot daggars into his frail heart. " I will feed you to sa bloodiest sharks in da sea—SAKE DID NOT—nor any Sake—for the matter, deserf sucha tramati!" he looked up as he thought for a moment and then slapped his knee in recognition, "TRAMATIZING!... Death" he finished looking drunkenly smug, before falling back on his but.

There were many people up on the public gazebo above her, Kagome suddenly noted. She had no idea how she hadn't noticed them all before...she was so used to being alone out here. It looked like all of them were about her age. She wondered if some of them went to the new high school she was going to go to year this. If so…she might now be a tinge scared-

A red and white blur shot straight past Kagome, startling her out of thought, and then dived straight off the opposing cliff and into the rabid foaming sea. J_ust about where the Sake took a bath. _Kagome thought blankly, still wide eyed with shock._ where did that thing come from?_ She looked up at the gazebo were everyone had begun to cheer. All the while seeming enraptured by the chilling sea where, she grimaced, the red thing took a dive.

She looked up to where they were all newly enraptured and noticed a sturdy wet boy endorsed with red clothes. Funny it kinda looked like something from the Sengoku Period. Except instead of long black hair he had thick long pearly strands of sopping _white_ hair atop his head, and "oh my GOD" she squealed clapping her hands, the "cutest wittle doggy ears in the whole universe!" Her legs kicked frantically with excitement —she froze, now was not the time to get overcome by excitement. Althought she could at least keep the smile the two fuzzy squares gave her.

Then she froze again, but not because the the whole crowd had begun to cheer even louder, clapping there hands and whistling with fervor. But because of the red and white boy they were cheering for, the boy who now held up in a victory stance something small and shiny—It was the sake bottle, and his startlingly golden eyes were glued to her with a white tuft of eyebrow raised as thought to say, 'you saw that bit of awesomeness right?' Kagome smirked crossing her legs, "show off." She sighed, knowing fully well the hanyou could hear her just fine.

**O.O**

"KAMPAI" Inuyasha gulped the biting milky shot down "kehhhhh!" He slammed the glass with a dull chime onto the yielding oak wood table "It's never strong enough!" He bragged sweeping his bangs out of his eyes in content. Smoothly, or so he thought, secretly brushing the building perspiration discretely off of his reddening forehead.

However a certain wolf youkai noticed and was not fooled by the gesture. "Oh my Inuyasha, looking a bit red their arent we?"

"Koga, You don't have shit on me, you haven't even tasted your shot." Inuyasha glared at the incompetent wolf and pointed blatantly at his glass lying unattended on the table.

" I'm a man of cleaner tastes" Koga shrugged and then flashed a glance to the other side of the table where a dark haired and peachy pale skinned girl sat chatting avidly with the all-too-sociable Ayume. Her sake held up daintily in her right hand, untouched. Hmm, if she was ignoring the alcohol then that meant that...

"OH..." Inuyasha mentally socked himself. Seemed like the stinky wolf figured that not drinking would get the evidently straight-edge newcomer… Ko—Kagome to notice him. Great master plan idiot, trying to impress an uninterested woman was so not worth passing up a drink of sake. He took another swig in toast to that clever and also very true statement.

Inuyasha had arrived a little earlier than everyone through a separate shortcut. In other words he hopped along the tree tops. Normally this happened without any interuptions. He just hopped along in sweet, meditating silence. However, today as he jumped onto the last tree, his body stopped short. This was most definately not a usual occurence, and later mentally berated himself for his lack of bodily control. Although, he couldn't quite blame his eyes.

She was glowing brighter than the setting sun. The girl wasn't even doing anything special, just sitting there and he couldn't move or even tear his eyes away. So he just sat there and watched her carelessly tap her feet breezily against the stone. He would never admit it to anyone, but it was kind of cute. He was so entranced that he hadn't even noticed his friends until the resounding ring of the sake bottle dropping into the sea had alerted him to their presance. And always ready to steel a chance to impress, he dived for it.

He saw Koga's point, but of course Koga had to come up with the most stupid plan to impress her, "_stay sober…like her." Y_eah that was genius, cause every girl wants to date themselves. He internally rolled his eyes, she wasn't even paying attention to him.

'_Damn'_ he cursed mentally, Koga had to pick the in oprortune time (the time of his boredom) to crush hard on a girl. No drinking faceoff tonight. He crossed his arms erasing all signs of his formal enjoyment. His mood was _completely_ ruined by this turn of events. He needed to find something else to waist his pent up energy on.

He scanned his friends eagerly, first looking over at Miroku—passed out, that was an operation no-go. He stared at Hojo—Hojo averted his eyes, too wimpy. He glared at Koga—Koga glared back. '_Well' _a wicked gleam blemished his purely golden eyes '_I could always bate the bastard…'_

"So Koga, does mommy not like it when wittle kogey wogey drinks?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Koga growled, "Inuyasha I already told you" he said it clean and clear for the moronic dog "I –am—above—ALCOHOL!" He looked over at Kagome, hopeful that she heard his _"I'm a really great wholesome guy"_ exclamation.

"Okay so then you wouldn't be interested in a little _wholesome _competition?" Inuyasha's grin showed his fangs; this was going to be easy.

**O.O**

"YOU CHEETING PRICK!" Koga growled slamming his cards down onto the old whether beaten table "you are supposed to say UNO! When you only have only ONE card left!"

Kagome and Ayume immediately stopped there frantic chatter and stared like two spooked birds at Koga's feverish face, anger bulging veins hideously from his neck.

Hojo hid under the table. He was not involved, and never would be if he could help it.

Miroku turned over in his sleep, mumbling something about there not being enough pies left.

Inuyasha just looked pissed off, which was really quite the norm.

_Ah yes_, Inuyasha exalted mentally. This is the anger he wanted, NEEDED. "I said UNO! YOU just didn't HEAR ME!" He stared the wolf youkai down, his glowing eyes begging for a challenge. he nearly smiled at the heat rising in the wolfs cheeks. _That's it dance my puppet, dance. _

They both stood up, their chairs screeching with protest. "Are you saying I'm DEAF?" Koga asked incrulously.

"No" Inuyasha cocked his head arrogantly to the side, "just hard of hearing." He smiled deviously, _so close_.

A thick dark energy, damper than the sea breeze seeped out from the wrathful boys. Its dingy musk invading the air as their unspoken, hostile challenges and insults slammed silently into each other through the adverse glare connecting their ominous cloud grew loud with canine thunder as they growled there intent.

_Were there is thunder, lightning always follows. Success!_

**O.O**

Kagome was dumb founded. Did they even realize they were fighting over a _children's_ game? She pursed her lips—this was absolutely… _ridicules._

"So… I'm betting 10 bucks on Inuyasha"

"Who?" Kagome fiddled with a piece of lint on her dress, pretending not to remember his name. It was best no one new her slight affixation on him.

"The white haired one." Ayume dutifully reminded her.

"Oh" her hands halted there nervous patter as she gave him an assessing glance, impressed, she then analyzed Koga. But while she did, she noticed something funny…"I'll bet you 11 dollars on Hojo getting smashed under that table." She pointed delicately at Hojo's rickety fortress under said table.

"Say whaaaaat?" Ayume looked down under the table "Yo Hoeey Joeeey!" she barked cupping her mouth into the form of a microphone, "better get out from under there, Kagome thinks that you're gonna get squ-."

"CLASH!" There was no longer a clear view of Hojo, only a mountain of wooden debris with a black river created by Koga's ponytail, weaving down its crest.

"uashed…" she blinked.

_**O.O A few seconds earlier…**_

Inuyasha broke the dank atmosphere first, his prey was ripe and ready for a good oldfashioned ass kicking. He grabbed Koga by the neck and slammed him all but gently into the table. Wood chunks flew everywhere, their splintering sounds of pain only exciting Inuyasha further.

Koga was just about ready to pound the mutt all the way to china. He lunged heavily into him, throwing them outside of the gazebo. No way in HELL was he losing to a half-youkai.

The demon… and a half, Wrestled along the dark Cliffside, flirting carelessly with its devious edge.

"OH SHIT"

—"PLUNK"

Cliffside had never much liked flirts.

**O.O**

"Now boys, what do you say?" Ayume, hands held sternly on her hips, eyed the imbeciles expectantly.

"He STARTED IT!" Inuyasha and Koga's hands shot out from under there heavy woolen blankets to point accusingly at the other.

"No!" Ayume stamped her foot "you say your _sorry_" she brought her had up as if to smack them, but instead punched her angry fist rhythmically into her open palm, "S!" smack, "O!" smack, "R!" smack "R!" smack, "and Y!" SMACK!

The rascals gulped and looked away sheepishly "sorry" they mumbled so fast that it could have been her imagination if they had said it at all. "… that's much better" she smiled. Now, she pondered while turning around, if only she could get Hojo to stop crying…

Kagome was way ahead of her "now Hojo, I know it hurts" she patted his shoulder affectionately, he flinched, '_oops',_ maybe she should try to be more gentle,"but I really need you to uncurl yourself so I can bandage it."

"No" he shook his head in disagreement and tucked himself deeper into the fetal position. Why was he involved, he wasn't supposed to get involved in the demons scurmish. These things weren't supposed to happen to those who consistently vowed to stay out of the way.

"Yes" she kagome prodded, reaching delicately for his leg.

"No" he turned his head away from her, biting back tears.

"Yes" she scooted closer, hands eager to repair.

"No" He whimpered, he was not ready to handle this, and probably never would.

"YES" she was getting angry now

"N-nooo" His resolve to remain untouched, fading.

"YESSSSSS!" She grabbed his leg and wretched him coarsely out of the fetal position, and bandaged him up just as quickly.

"There" she grinned approvingly at her handy work, and then at him " now don't you feel much better?"

"...Actually, yes"

_**A/N Don't worry, this chapter is more like an…an intro—the next chapter is where the plot really starts. **_


	2. Chapter 2 the great Miko!

8

Disclaimer; Inuyasha is not mine but OH! How I wish he were….

**Chapter 2, the great MIKO!**

She inched the tip of her nimble arrow up a fraction, the slight breeze running swiftly across its lethal edge. She readjusted herself in her defensive lunge in the tree, her silk skirts bunching neatly at the seams of her tired thighs.

The youkai was rumored to drink here every day at around this time, but my god! How long did she have to wait? She had been waiting here for over a half an hour crouched in the same position. Hoping for the advantage of surprise, it sort of made her feel like a ninja sniper, which was kinda cool. But the waiting! Her bumbling mind told her only an half an hour had passed but her arms and legs said it was really days not minutes! Every leaf fluttering somberly to the ground a marking of the end of a day and the and begging of a new one…her patience was running thin. Sure, she could just forfiet her advantagious postion and take a nap, or wallow sloppily around around the clearing until her foe arrived, but that was not the ninja-erm-miko bit her lip anxiously, her arms were begining to feel rung down by lead weights, their ache reaching bone deep. _All of this_, she hanged her head in exasperation, _for apparently a no show_. _Damnnnn_.

"Pat pat pat" the sound sped up clumsily behind her, she pivoted ready to shoot at the invader " Priestess Kago-ao-koke! Pat, pat, oof." Kagome watched Kanna trip over a root and face plant the dense earth.

Poor Kanna! Kagome went to go help the girl, but Kana was resilient and sprung back up almost instantly. "The youkai you were supposed to defeat here" the words rushed out of her faster than Kagome's arrows shot, as she spread her arms around to point out the absence of the creature. "is not here" she stated and then began to jump excitedly up and down like a chipmunk on coffee as she gestured in the direction from whence she came, "but is attacking Kaguras' village!" she continued bouncing "you need to come back now!" she demanded.

Kagome slung her bows and arrows over her shoulder and walked gravely over to the child, gently setting her hand on the snow white head to still her. "lead the way" she smiled. Not that the child could see the smile, for Kagome wore a blue lace veil over her nose and mouth for anonymity, she just hoped the smile could be heard through her voice. "And you can just call me Kago-sama, no need for formalities" she patted Kana's fluffy head affectionately and they started on there way back to the village.

"_Buyo? Buyo? Are you down there?" Slip " weeeeeeeeeee!"_ Kagome remembered back to when she first came here a year ago on her fifteenth birthday, she had slipped down the well when looking for Buyo and found herself in the senko no Jidai era, 500 years ago, in a mossy stone well laced with forest green ivy. A pale blue green light graced her as she climbed up and peeked her head over the wells cobblestone edge. She found herself face to face with a whole village, all bowed towards her, as if she were a goddess. In a creepy yet really sweet way, they had been… waiting for her.

She, evidently, was prophesied to show up out of that well by a Miko fifty years prior, to be the south's guardian, and to quote "unite the lands" at this Kagome literally quotes with her fingers mockingly and rolls her eyes like the nearly sixteen year old child she is-excuse me, she begs to differ, young classy miko.

Because she came from the mossy well and was to be their protector they called her Priestess Kago-ao-koke, meaning priestess of (divine protection-kago) from (green lit- ao)(moss-koke). For one thing, the name was too long, and for a second it wasn't too attractive. So most of the time she prodded people to please call her Kago-sama or just Kago. At least this way it sounded half like her real name, so she might actually respond when they called for her instead of seemingly ignoring them. Oh the awkward moments that had arisen with that priestess title.

They had given her a Miko donning and had trained her for a half a year every night, tortuously, whenever she got home from school. God they were like task masters. But Kagome was happy nonetheless, because the training helped her master her Miko powers at a faster pace.

Her easily developed high power was the pride of the Kagura-village and the whole south, for they purified and petrified all dark things. In other words she kept the South safe from the east and the West's evil powers and demons. Although she knew almost nothing of the North, because they were separated by a dense forest that no one ever tried to pass, all she knew was that it was a lush mountainous range, and that it had recently found a new lord to help rule and protect it, Lord Inu. The North was the land of civilized demon's, meaning (they didn't eat people, thank god), and lived similarly like the South.

The South and the North were at peace with each other because of this. The East and the West was more than enough for them individually to handle anyway, they felt no need to conquer each other. But, Kagome wondered if they could ever become allies, like what they had in her century. With their demon powers and the south's amazing multitude of people, maybe they could defeat the east and west for good. She smiled cleverly at the thought, her pinky doing crazy twirls in her hair.

So this is the crazy past world Kagome was brought into and she wouldn't give it up for the world. Here she had a _whole countryside _that adored her, and _hello_ she now had _"magical_" powers, that she could use to defend people. It was fun, it was an adrenaline rush, and it was dangerous!

As soon as Kagome had come home after her first trip, she had traded her Miko Adornments for a more modified and stylish outfit she had created on her own. She now wore a white rap over her head with a blue lace veil over her mouth and nose. This way no one knew exactly what she looked like, so some days she could dress all peasantry and walk around the village to shop and just be a normal village girl. This way she could just enjoy herself, and be a hard working Miko at the same time—yeah she knows, absolutely…_genius. _

The white rap draped extravagantly about her head extended down her torso in the form of a silk blouse; with a layering of forest green, pale green, and white silken skirts tucked under, hanging just and inch above her knees, so she could move about freely when in combat. She absolutely _loved_ her outfit; it was the prettiest thing she had ever created! Every once in a while when she would just happen to walk in front of a mirror, she would stop for a second, smile, do a twirl, and then prance happily away like a fawn chasing a butterfly. It was a great ego booster.

"YARGH, SMASH, STOMP STOMP" the ground below Kagome began to shake hostilely with every violent step the Giant Boar demon took, and she literally _fell _out of thought.

And then rolled with a flare of silky waves crashing about the still air left in her wake, into a defensive position before the now cowering Kanna.

"Kanna!" she yelled through the racket of battle "fetch me a small blue stone and a Fresh long thin branch from the Ginboku tree." The demon was huge and would need more than just an arrow of dead wood and old stone seal it.

"B-b-but" the girl stammered.

"Kanna" she put her hands on her shoulders and looked steadily into the child's flighty young eyes, willing some calm into her panicking form " I need you to do this for me, you can do it" she smiled encouragingly before turning swiftly to scour the beasts belly with a flaming arrow, already knowing the child's answer.

Where the flame lighting the Miko's arrow had come from, Kanna would never know or understand as she watched the priestess fight. "GRARGH" the beast wailed at being attacked and zoned in on the tiny priestess. With her heart beating as fast as a hummingbirds wings, Kanna ran to the Ginboku tree.

"_Hiyahhh!_" Kagome landed softly on the cliff face, aimed, and shot a purifying arrow into the grizzly flesh of the youkai's shoulder blade.

The beast wailed flailing its arms in anger, but otherwise seemed none affected. _Where is Kanna?_ she wondered, she needed to defeat the beast soon, it was nearing her bed time and tomorrow was her first day of High School—she just did not have the time for this.

"Clink" Kagome looked down to find a small blue stone sitting idly by her feet. "_Why hello there mister stone, and what can I do for you today?" _She said in a singsong voice as she picked up the stone, smiling, kanna was sure being shy. She then looked sweetly over to the bush nearby, were a few moments later a slim branch popped out. _"_And_ mister twig!" _she threw her hands up in profound gaiety._ "Fancy you being here at the same time as mister stone!" _She exclaimed while moving the branch and stone to the end of the cliff face, all the while waving giddily to the bush. "_Why thank you so much misses bush for the guests, I don't know how I shall ever repay you!"_ She grinned to herself, hoping the little tirade had set Kanna at ease. And no, she was not going crazy, but she could swear she had heard the bush give a grunt before it rustled a farewell. _Funny_ she thought, how very UN Kanna like.

She shot another arrow into the beast's eye, just to keep him distracted for a little while.

" one, two…three, four…and ah yes, five." Kagome added the last leaf to her circle around the stone and branch. She then set the blue stone onto the Ginboku branch. For this Miko spell she needed wood of life from the Ginboku, and a stone of water, together with her Miko powers they made _one toxic arrow_! She clapped her hands and giggled maniacally, before growing rigged with coolness— she cracked her knuckles, time to get serious.

She folded her fingers over the circle and pressed down hard on them, willing as much of her energy and power to flow into the mix before her. Aqua blue and spring green shown out through the cracks between her fingers, leaping frantically in a colorful dance.

"Wonderful" she hummed happily "almost there—" A loud cracking noise like that of tree sap being burned, emitted itself from her hands.

She began to lift her hands slowly up as the color show and crackling noises began to cool down and fade. Where her hands had covered a tree branch and stone, now lay a faintly glowing blue tipped arrow with lines of green and bark brown swirling down its sinewy shaft.

The thing hummed with expectancy as she drew it back and aimed. Blue sparks burst in crackling spurts from its point like small jolts of lightning as she let the arrow fly. The arrow slammed into the beast's heart, electric like bolts coursed through its body, sending it into frantic quivering jolts on the ground. Until it finally lay still, dead.

Kanna came running over to Kagome, panting. " I" she bent over gasping for breath "got what you—" she sucked in more air greedily "asked for" she looked up with a broad grin, holding out a twig and a small blue stone.

Kagome's eyes blinked furiously at the two items. "But-But- um..weren't you over..." kagome frowned, who was in the bushes then.. "well thanks a bunches Kanna!" She smiled.

"No problem priestess!" the little girl beamed.

**O.O**

" _Powers nearly as strong as yours_." Inuyasha grimaced at the memory of Kaedes' words. "—yeah stronger, MY ASS!" Inuyasha growled, convienently forgetting that kaede said nearly as strong, not stronger, as he slugged a tree out of his way. He trudged on through the thick vegetation of the forest, back up to his Northern domain.

He stomped all the way up the hill to his advisors hut. He slammed the screen open " Kaede!" he peered around the room grumpily "KAEDE!" he tried again.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around…it was Kaede—she was frowning. "Inuyasha it's late, you shouldn't be yelling, you'll wake the whole village up." she whispered in a hoarse grandmotherly voice.

Inuyasha crossed his arms " If you had been around I wouldn't of ha—" Inuyasha stopped short as he saw Kaede Narrow her weathered eyes warningly. He gulped and started anew " I wanted to let you know…" he began thumping his foot on the floor impatiently "that I'm going home tonight." He stopped tapping his foot "home in _my time_" he pronounced the words clearly so the old bat could understand there implications, "tomorrows my first day of High School."

Kaede nodded, too tired to really care, and then stepped in front of him "good night Inuyasha" she yawned, and then promptly slammed the screen shut in his face.

Inuyasha stood staring blankly at the front of the door, studying the old nicks and grains on its old surface. He had wanted to say more, he had wanted to tell her about how she was wrong about the priestess of the south. He wanted to tell her about how he had checked up on her, and well… yeah, _not so amazing_.

He had been lying around bored in the gardens when he got a brilliant idea, and decided to check up on the rumored great Miko of the South Kaede had told him warningly about.

He had found her in the village, a slim girl swathed in silks of green, white, and blue; preparing to fight a great Boar youkai. He watched her from afar in a tree, (which strangely struck him as dejavu) as she asked a white haired child to grab a Ginboku branch and a blue stone. _Keh_ he thought seeing the Miko give so much faith and trust into a measly child. It was pointless, the child definitely would not be able to get what the priestess needed in time, so he followed her.

He was right, the girl couldn't even reach the lowest branch on the tree. He had been watching her jump futilely at the taunting branch before he decided to get the ingredients himself. That is, after he consoled himself that he wasn't actually _helping_ the priestess—he was just _curious _as to what she would do with them_. _

It only took a few minutes for him to gather the things he needed and hide in a bush nearby her. He threw out the stone by her feet, and she surprised him, but not by deftly knowing the stone had been thrown to her by someone in the bush, but by what she had said. "_Why hello there mister stone" _she had sang as she picked up the stone_ "and what can I do for you today?" _Inuyasha had gawked for a moment behind the branches, seriously debating a reply, before he awkwardly stuck out the small Ginboku branch. She was _crazy_.

Although he _was_ amazed at the magic she performed, and the precise shooting of her arrows, and of course the defeat of the beast. But in absolutely _NO_ way did he believe her skill to be greater, or even near his level. She had needed _his _help, if he hadn't been there, who knows what damage the Boar youkai would have done before that Kanna had finally come around. It might have even killed her for all he knew.

Inuyasha solemnly convinced himself that this was true, that she really was not a threat to his power. But for some reason, on his way back to the North, he felt restless, and beat the ground more harshly with his feet than when he had first set out to spy on her.

**O.O**

**A/N: Oh Inuyasha… jealousy is not the answer. Thanks for reading! I'm rather new at this, so I wouldn't mind some criticism, although I don't think a compliment would hurt too much either. Oh yeah, and Kanna is still youkai. Although she is very young and was raised in a loveing environment, so i decided it would be nice to give poor, sad kanna, a happy disposition for once. **

**…in other words! REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3 friends

_Authors note:_

_Congratulations!_

_You have reached chapter three! I hope you enjoy _

_Inuyasha disclaimer: Although it rips my heart in half to do this, I BirdHummingAlong solemnly disclaim Inuyasha. *wipes straying tear*_

**Chapter three Friends**

Kagome slowly inhaled the sweet fragrance of dewy grass and fresh air, reveling in the bird songs twittering above her. She looked up and smiled sweetly at the trees, hoping to convey her appreciation to the lively voices that had guided her everyday to middle school.

But to day she would make a slight detour in her normal path, because now she was going to a new school—high school (dun Dun DUN). She shook away all frightend imaginings of her first day as she hooked her thumbs determinedly under her backpack straps, and traversed bravely on.

Kagome was fighting her way up a steep hill, seriously debating on whisking herself back to the feudal era right then and there with a bundle of dynamite, and blasting the damn uncaring pile of earth apart, when she stopped. Puzzlingly, the leaves around her had begun to fly in front of her, with the noise of wind lightly swooshing by, its sound echoing in her ear, as if she had just stuck a sea shell onto it.

The wind soon grew fierce and loud around her, whipping her hair out in front of her and lashing it into her face. The sound of fleeting steps came from behind her, so fast you could barely make out the part of silence between the feet pounding into the ground. This thing, what ever it was, was not human.

She flinched, and fumbled quickly for her none existant bow and arrow as she turned muscles tensed with adrenalin rush toward the monster. Only to find herself staring deep into pools of melted chocolate set in the frame of two somber eyes, and her hands not grasping for an arrow, but being gently caressed by two warm one's.

"K-Koga" she mumbled faintly, her cheeks raspberry red. He was a little too close for comfort.

"Kagome" he breathed, gripping her hands more firmly within his own. This is just the reaction he was looking for, she _was_ speechless.

He decided to take it a step further as he began stroking her fingers. "wahh!" Kagome squealed as she jumped back.

Koga gawked at his empty hands, and then turned to the girl, now hiding behind a tree. This was an unexpected reaction.

"Ah- Kagome, would you like me to walk you to school?" he raised an arm and began to scratch nervously at the back of his head. When he had planned this out in his head, it had taken a far more romantic route, consisting ofexclamations of _oh Koga you're so strong and fast _and him carrying Kagome's love struck form into the school. But alas, he would reach that idealism in good time.

She stepped out from behind the tree and smiled sheepishly "sure lets walk to school together, I could sure use a good _friend_ to find my classes with." She emphasized the word friend.

Koga ignored the enemy word of all male suitors, the word _friend,_ and happily wagged his tail next to Kagome all the way school.

The ground flew by in a steady colorful blur beneath Inuyasha as he leaped through the trees, his mind in a distant sleepy fog, leaving him unobservant of the late summer vibrancy whizzing by him. Inuyasha was not a morning person; well at least he wasn't when it was a morning he had to go to school.

"Never, not even _once_ have I lost a fight, not with my speed-"

Inuyasha's flowing steps through the tree's froze immediately as he heard a familiar, arrogant voice; and he began flapping his arms urgently like an excited baby bird as he teetered on the edge of a none-to-welcoming, gnarled tree branch. He looked down to see Koga grinning smugly, talking amiably and waiving his hands around excitedly about brave past times to an uncaring Kagome next to him. Who was staring anxiously at the seemingly too faraway entrance to the school, completely ignoring him in her angst.

Evidently the conversation was one sided, Inuyasha smirked as a mischievous idea bounced boisterously into his conniving mind; He cracked his knuckles, his eye's now lit with a devious fire, and jumped gracefully down, landing straight in front of Koga, so close they were irritably nose to nose.

"Boo" Inuyasha's eye's bugged.

"And then I dahhh… Inuyasha?" Koga's lively hands ceased moving as he finished his sentence bewildered. He stared angrily at the familiar, yet strangely annoying yellow orbs blinking innocently at him.

He was about to retort something he thought clever when Inuyasha wrinkled his nose and bent his eyebrows, as if disgusted; he then stepped to the side and yelled furiously "KOGA! Stop staring at Kagome's ass!"

The Wolf demon's face flushed beet red as he stuttered "I-I-I" and began stepping timidly backward as an equally red faced Kagome rounded sharply on him and began pacing menacingly towards him, all her anxious feelings for the first day of school clearly forgotten.

Inuyasha chuckled evilly at a job well done, and then slipped discreetly away to look at his class schedule. He frowned at it, it told him which class he was in, class A15, but it didn't give him his teacher's names. Frustrated, he squeezed the paper tightly in his fist; it crinkled weakly and then fell from his fingers in the thin, defeated form of baby powder. He _needed_ to know who his English teacher was. He stomped angrily toward room A15.

A few yards behind a girl pink and blind with rage stumbled in the same direction. And a few yards behind her a wolf youkai staggered also in the same direction as Inuyasha, his ears, temporarily deaf from the wrathful screams of an angry woman, drooping in defeat.

She had had a feeling, well she admitted, a very small feeling, that he was a pervert. She was angry. For just one minute she turns her back, and he is already ogling her ass!

She marched into the room found her name on the seating chart and sat near the back of the room, glowering at the top of the desk, not noticing the hanyoi smirking triumphantly in the seat behind her. Or the wolf youkai stepping into his seat sulkily near the front of the room, rows away from her.

But wait a minute! She looked up suddenly, and no she did not notice the hanyoi or the youkai, she had realized something. It was the first day; she should be starting out fresh, she should be ready and eager to learn! She slammed her fist down on her desk in agreement with her thoughts, Inuyasha flinched in his seat behind her.

Nothing and no one could bring her down! This would be one of the best school years ever, if she had any say in it! Newly energized, she bent over into her backpack and brought her pen and note book out. She smiled looking out the window next to her, tapping her pen to a tune unknown by the puzzled hanyoi behind her.

What got in to her he wondered puzzled, crossing his arms in his seat, and that tapping noise was _really_ starting to bug him "ahem" he coughed roughly, trying to get her attention. Nothing, the incessant tune continued. He leaned a little closer to her ear "mhhmm" his throat grumbled. Nothing, not even a flinch, she was no longer in this world. So he leaned into her ear "AAhemmchoo" he sneezed angrily.

The pen tapping stopped, she swiveled in her seat, and confronted him with accusing and revolted eyes. "Could you cover your mouth?—When you sneeze?" she glared at him for a moment and then turned around grumbling "eww gross, now I have hanyoi germs." Before she whipped around quickly " …wait _a_ second, Inuyasha?" she had just realized that she knew the bad mannered sneezer.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, expecting another scolding; although her tone did sound different, kind of uncertain and reproachful.

"I'm Kagome if you don't remember, we met at the gazebo in Tokyo beach" she now graced him with one of her most dazzling smiles, hopping he would respond positively.

Hope is a weak thing

"Oh yeah Kockome" he looked up pretending to try and remember that night only three weeks ago, yeah, he remembered her just fine.

"It's Kagome" she stared at him

"Yeah Kogme" he tapped his finger on his chin, as if still trying to fully remember the whole night.

"Ka-Go-Me" she ground out

"Ah yes Ka-" his attention was diverted swiftly by Miroku, diving over and to nuggie Inuyasha's white frothy head.

"Inuyasha! Old boy" he exclaimed, sitting down next to a now ruffled looking Inuyasha.

Kagome watched them talk for a moment, disgruntled, before turning around to gaze expectantly at the incoming teacher. Psh boys.

The teacher was short and modestly stylish, with long dark hair, effortlessly floating about her waist as she set her bag down on the desk and began promptly writing something on the board. She was gorgeous, which was impressive for someone who looked to be within there forties.

Kagome watched her finish writing Izayoi Taisho on the board, and then flounce over to the front of her desk to smile brightly at the class.

"Good morning" her voice blared with good natured enthusiasm as she leaned casually on the edge of the desk "I am Mrs. Taisho!"

An outraged cry like that of an injured dog, resounded from behind Kagome. She turned dismayed, to look at the now furious Inuyasha behind her.

"Oh, hi honey!" Mrs. Taisho leaned over toward Kagome's side of the room, and waived undeterred at Inuyasha's now shaking, angry form.

Miroku nearly fell out of his seat in his fit of laughter.

Kagome laughed too, so this was Inuyasha's mother, very interesting…

In fact she liked Mrs. Taisho, who didn't seem to mind embarrassing her seething son, and seemed to actually enjoy the subject she taught, English. She also had a ruler, for playfully smacking the wrists of student's who either weren't paying attention, or were sleeping. She tended to only use it on Inuyasha.

The light, and annoying sound of a bell rang, waking Inuyasha up. He reached around his desk trying to find his alarm clock, then bolted right up, realizing he was still at school. He looked around now fully alert; everyone was standing up, grabbing their stuff and heading out the door.

He sniffed at the smell of bento being opened, and cafeteria food permeating the air. The smell now rendered Inuyasha hypnotized, it called to him. Possessed he turned toward Miroku and Kagome who were now chatting politely as they put there books into there bags.

"Let's go to the cafeteria —_now_" he demanded, still sniffing eagerly at the air.

"Sure" Miroku shrugged

"But I already pa-" Kagome had no time to finish her sentence, for Inuyasha, unwilling to wait any longer had grabbed her and Miroku's arms, and began pulling them incessantly towards the cafeteria.

"f-f-fine" she stumbled, as she quickened her steps to match his run. And then smiled, at least she wouldn't have to worry about who she was going to eat her lunch with today.

Because Inuyasha was so bent on getting to the cafeteria before the whole school, they got there first, literally first, as in no one was in the cafeteria except them and the lunch lady. You could talked to your own echo in that empty, large room.

Inuyasha got ramen, Miroku got udon, and Kagome just tagged along, because she had already packed a lunch.

They sat down at the nearest table, and the two boys began to dig barbarically into there food. They slurped and, sipped, and repeat. Kagome sat watching them, horrified. Where were there manners?

"Barbaric huh?" a familiar feminine voice popped next to her, she turned to see Ayume and another girl sitting next to her. The other girl smiled and reached her hand over Ayume to shake Kagome's.

"Hi, I'm Sango"

"Kagome" Kagome smiled brightly.

"Were in the same class, except I sit near the front, so I don't have to deal with Miroku's hands"

"Miroku's hands?" Kagome was confused, what about Miroku's hands? There seemed to be nothing special about them . she peered over at said hands, which were cupping a sloshing bowl of udon as he began guzzling the leftover broth.

How refined.

Sango retched one of Miroku's hands out of the udon bowl, and waved it at Kagome. "Meet, will you bare my child" Miroku ignored Sango and continued sipping his udon with his other hand. "And" she then with a cry of protest from the glutton, wretched the other hand away, this time more forcefully from the udon that dropped to the table, and waved it at Kagome "Mr. I really, _really_ like soft curves"

"Oh…" Kagome now got the picture "so he's a pervert."

Sango had now gotten Miroku's full attention. His face screwed up in indignation. "Sango!" he cried outraged. "How dare you fill Kagome's _pure_, _beautiful_, little head with such _filthy, retched _lies! He pulled his hands away sternly from her grip, and reattached his attention back to his fallen udon.

Sango rolled her eyes, and then blanched. One of Miroku's hands, had not as she had believed, returned itself to the udon, but had instead set itself sneakily onto her knee. Her cheeks burned a deep red, and she quickly grabbed Kagome's arm and pointed blatantly at her defiled knee. Only to find it bare, as if the hand had never been there.

The sneaky bastard!

"What is it Sango?" Kagome asked, seriously concerned. Sango was still holding Kagome's arm, now frozen in anger; how could she ever convince Kagome that Miroku was a lecher, that she _had_ to be wary of?

" Sango are you okay?" Kagome stared at her. 

Miroku smiled deviously behind his bowl of udon.

Kagome laid satisfied under the shade of the Ginboku tree, reflecting happily over her first week of school. It was perfect; she had new friends, and great teachers. Everyday she would banter with Miroku and Inuyasha in the morning, and then at lunch she would talk with Ayume and Sango about the boy's horrible eating manners. Sometimes even Koga and Hojo would hang out with them. And yes, she had made up with Koga, albeit a bit grudgingly.

Although Sango had some funny qualities about her; she would tend to stop Kagome midsentence, and point looking shocked to her body parts, as if something had been there that shouldn't. Kagome really liked Sango, and was glad they were friends, even though she had her weird habits.

Kagome got up and yawned, time to patrol the Village, she had to get her duties done so that tonight she could hang out at the beach Gazebo with her friends. She collected her things, skipped away from the tree. Where she hadn't noticed two golden eyes watching her.

_Authors note: Yeah I'm sorry, not much romance yet—these things take time. But soon there should be some damsel in distress action... or something like that.. _


	4. Chapter 4 chocolate

**A/N: I BirdHummingAlong solemnly disclaim Inuyasha.**

**Chapter 4 Chocolate **

Heat rising to her cheeks, Kagome giggled as she ran to towards the Gazeebo. Every frantic, gidy step powdering white sand higher up her bare legs. In her right hand she held her shoes, and in her left a bag of chocolates for everyone. She had made the chocolates earlier with her mom, and couldn't wait to give all of her new friends a taste.

Sand slipped beneath her toes, causing her to trip, arms stretched out in front to catch herself. Her arms, however, did not hit powdery sand as she had forseen them to do, but had been caught between two boys. Miroku had caught her left arm and Koga her right, they both grinned eerily at her, still holding her arms up even though she had already righted herself. What was the hold up?

She smiled back at them, a smile a bit tinged by perplexidy "my saviors!" she praised. They didn't change their positions. Okay, so maybe they were waiting for the okay to move forward. "Onward to the Gazebo!" she exclaimed in mock bravado and then began trudging her feet forward. Only to be slung backwards to where her arms were still being held by two mischievous teen age boys. She stared at them, her eyes demanding an explanation for the hold up. Miroku held up her left hand, dangling her bag of chocolates in front of their faces. Their eyes glazed in a longing stare at the bag of goodies.

Their intentions finally registered in her mind, and she most definitely did not approve!"Oh no you don't!" she tugged her hand of chocolates towards herself, and away from the hungry stares. "These chocolates are for _EVERYONE!_"

Miroku begged with puppy eyes, Koga didn't need puppy eyes to look forlorn, wolf eyes by themselves work just fine.

"Oh _fine!"_ she threw her hands up in defeat. "You can each have _one _chocolate…" Immediately they released her arms "…When I give everyone else one too" she finished and then ran for it, giggling maniacally all the way towards the gazebo.

They ran after her. Miroku grabbed her ankle, strangling Kagome's giggles short with an "oomph" as she fell face first into the sand. Seeing that they had her down, the devious boys doggy piled on top of her.

"Surrender your Chocolates!" Koga yelled to the girl shaking furiously beneath himself and Miroku, clutching her chocolates protectively to her chest. "nephherrr!" came Kagome's cry, muffled by dense sand.

"Then you leave me no choice Kagome" Koga replied mournfully, and then turned somberly to Miroku, "Miroku, I set you free."

"Really? Are you sure?" he cried gleefully.

Koga nodded softly in reply."do your stuff."

Kagome wondered what this stuff was that Koga was going to let miroku do. and then she felt it, a hand creeping onto her thigh, which continued to move up. "Ahh!" she screamed "I gife Uphh! I gife Uph" she screeched, as she began kicking her legs, trying fiercely to get away from the creepy hand.

Miroku's hand stayed put, "Miroku" Koga growled, already standing up, "she gives up", he glared hard at the pervert.

"Oh she does?" he stared hazily back at the wolf demon, as if just coming out of a trance. "Why I didn't hear her!" He stood up, brushing light tufts of sand off of his clothes, innocent.

Kagome sat up, gasping for breath. "You guys" she took a deep breath and then pointed warily at them, "Suck!"

But nevertheless she held the bag out to them, she wanted no more of this. she washed her hands of them all, and may her chocolate embarrassingly smudge their smug faces.

"CHOCOLATES!" a new voice cried and with a streak of white, Kagome's hand was empty.

They all gawked for a dismayed moment at her empty hand, before they all rushed, angrily, after the now fading line of white and red, Kagome included.

"INUYASHA!"

**O.O**

"Okay, so let me get this straight" Sango poked at the bon fire with a stick tentatively as she thought. "So Inuyasha has disappeared with Kagome's chocolates, and only _God_ knows if we will see him and the chocolates again."

She roamed her eyes over her friends, all of them sorrowful at the mention of the loss of the chocolates. Kagome was looking down at her hands, and biting the edge of her bottom lip. She nodded at Sango's correct assessment of the situation.

Koga sat with his arms crossed, staring up at the moon, as if he were about to howl at it in despair at any moment.

Miroku had his face turned to the side to obscure the view of a bright red hand mark on his cheek.

Sango cleared her throat " I only have one question" she threw her stick to the side and lunged for Miroku, grabbing his face and turning the mark towards herself "How did Miroku get this?" she turned a smiling face towards Kagome " did you do it? I must say it's fine work." She chuckled looking back at the imprint on the side of Miroku's face.

"Actually… no I didn't" Kagome shrugged with a bemused grin, "we have no idea how he got that." Kagome looked curiously over at the hand print, still red, and maybe a little swollen too. " He disappeared from our chase after Inuyasha for one second and a minute later he comes back with...that."

"Then who did it?" Sango raised an eye brow and asked the air.

"I did!" the air answered back eagerly as Ayume jumped out perkily from behind a tree. "He snuck up behind me as I was climbing up here and he…umm" she blushed and looked to the side. "So I slapped him" she took a seat by the fire and began to rub her hands together against its warmth.

Sango sat against the trunk of the tree, satisfied. "so…" her stomach grumbled softly as she turned her head towards Kagome " got any extra chocolates on you, besides the one's Inuyasha took?"

"_Did someone say chocolate?"_ Inuyasha's head popped eerily upside down in front of Sango's face, as he hung down from a branch just above her head.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed half from being scared, and half from anger. As a reflex she grabbed his ears and yanked him off the branch. He glared up at her from the ground where he now lay on his back, as he rubbed his ears dubiously. Before he sat up and pulled out a bag of chocolates from his shirt, grinning ear to ear.

"My chocolates!" Kagome chimed gleefully as she grabbed them and began eagerly passing them out to everyone. Forgetting that Inuyasha was the reason they were gone, she was just happy to have them she was done passing them out, she plopped down by the fire and began nibbling happily on one herself. It was when she had gotten half way through passing out the chocolates that Kagome realized that Inuyasha was the reason they had been gone. "Inuyasha?"

"Yes Kagome?" he looked up at her, his face and hands smeared with chocolate.

Kagome just laughed and continued eating her chocolate, at least he hadn't eaten them all. In fact the bag hadn't been opened at all she realized.

"Inuyasha?" she prodded again, this time with a purpose.

"What?" this time he didn't look up from the chocolate he was smothering. Chocolate was way to important to continuously diverge his attention from.

"How come you took my chocolates?"

"Because I was bored" he didn't even bat an eyelash at the question.

"Because you were bored…" she echoed, bewildered. "But you didn't even eat any..."

"Keh, what about it?" Really though, as he thought back, it was because he couldn't stand all of the attention being on Miroku and Koga, they didn't deserve it. And he had realized that if the chocolates had been given to them, they would be gone by now, then no one would get any except for one gleeful mangy wolf and pervert. But he didn't tell her this, instead he said "you mean you guys didn't have fun chasing after me?"

Kagome thought about it, and really yeah, the whole occasion had been fun. All except for Miroku harassing her. "Yeah, actually I did have fun" she giggled, settling on letting him have his way. He had saved the chocolates after all, intentional or not, he had done it.

Inuyasha surprised at this answer looked up from his chocolate, his mouth forming a confused O. He wasn't expecting that, he was expecting a fight for the real reason.

Kagome's giggled turned into a full out laugh as she watched his surprised chocolate coated face stare back at her.

He smirked at her laugh, cute, it was a full belly laugh. This he knew because she was clutching at her stomach and gasping for air. She held no emotion at bay, it seemed, she just let her laugh roam free. He liked that. He turned regretfully from the sight of it, back to his neglected chocolates.

Kagome looked around her, at the faces warmly tinted by the flickering bon fire, and laughter. Everyone was enjoying themselves, It was beautiful. She sighed contentedly and continued on with her chocolates.

**O.O**

"Urgh…" Miroku stuffed his last chocolate slowly into his mouth, his other hand lay on his full belly. "I can't eat another one, those were great Kagome" his eyes zoned sleepily into the dying fire.

Everyone held a similar stance of drowsiness as they also echoed there thanks to Kagome.

Only one person did not look sleepy, and that was Inuyasha. "Let's do something" he suggested.

"Like what?" asked Ayume, rolling her eyes heavily towards him.

"Like a game or something" he added eagerly.

"I know!" Kagome sat up and eyed everyone excitedly "Lets play hide-n-seek! It's dark, it's the beach and forest" she pointed all around her "it's perfect!" everyone began to wake up as they thought about it. Sure it was a children's game, but damn it sounded like fun.

"NOT IT!" yelled Koga, and a chorus of not it's echoed after it. Leaving Miroku as it because he had fallen asleep.

"Hey—Miroku" Inuyasha prodded his side impatiently with the fire stick "Wake up, were playing hide-n-seek and _your_ it."

Miroku was now pretending to still be asleep, he didn't like the idea of being it. Loud snores escaped his lips.

Inuyasha raised his stick over his head like a sword, "MIROKU!" he yelled his aura suddenly powerful and demanding as he began to bring it down on the faker.

Miroku rolled smoothly out of the way and onto his feet, covered his eyes with his hands and began counting "TWENTY-NINTEEN—" everyone scrambled away, including Inuyasha who immediately abandoned the stick and bolted.

Kagome already had an idea were to hide. She looked around herself to make sure no one was around and climbed her way up a tree and onto the gazebo.

"three- two- one" Miroku began to peer around, but Kagome had another idea.

Kagome peered over the edge of the roof…_perfect _she thought deviously. Miroku was just with in her line of sight. She had one more chocolate left and it was going to land on his head. She stretched her arm over the edge of the gazebo. She was about to drop it on him when he moved. _No! I have to get him now, before it's too late_ and she leaned out far, too far. She dropped the chocolate as one of the roofs tiles slipped beneath her foot, propelling her helplessly forward. Her scream turned into a mini mouse squeak as a warm hand covered her mouth and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back in.

Wisps of silvery white hair flew out in front of her, glowing ever so lightly, as if the faint beams of light wafting down from the moon had webbed together and then spun into small wispy silver strands.

"Shhh, or you'll give my hiding spot away." A male voice rumbled in her ear. Shocked for a moment on almost dying, the glowing strands blurred into a stream of white and night sky blue as she allowed him to draw her in and turn her around to face him, with out protest. She looked up out of her daze to gaze into a cluster of golden fire, deepest into Inuyasha's face. Standing out against the dark night and white of his hair.

She then regained her composure with a clearing of her thoughts and returned her mind to the pressing matters at hand. "Ahemm," she eyed him warily "_your_ hiding spot?" she raised an eyebrow as if unsure of his capability to think straight "I don't recall you being here when I climbed up and claimed it." But she was slightly distracted by his hands still being around her waist, and didn't sound half as convincing as she normally would have.

Nonetheless, her statement was still strong enough to wean a small glare out of him. "I was here—you just didn't see me, because you were in your own small little Kagome world" he whispered furiously. "You tend to visit it often, I've noticed."

Kagome's lips began to purse, as if trying to down a lemon, as she though about this statement. She was most definitely not in her own world. She just liked to…reflect on things that have happened a lot. Things from the feudal era and things from the present. She was not-In- her-own-world! But she knew she couldn't argue with him on the logic of her thoughts, so she didn't say anything. She just kept directing her eyes from his glowing orbs, to his hands still cradling her waist. Hinting at something.

_Well not only does she like to fade out randomly, she also has turrets. _Inuyasha thought grimly as he watched Kagome's eyes flit across her face in the same pattern repeatedly. And then he decided to actually follow there crazy pattern. He twitched his eyebrows up, aghast in realization as he quickly drew back his displaced hands from her waist. _What were they doing there?_ He thought surprised and _oh god_ he panicked, were they doing a _Miroku_?

He snuck a looked back at her face, which held the same bitter note, but not furious. That was good, that meant his hands had been still. And not…well yeah you get the clasped his hands safely behind his back and glared at her, challenging her to say anything.

But she surprised him by sighing and sitting down, her attention now directed towards the stars. Not knowing what else to do he shrugged and sat down Indian style next to her and stared up too. There wasn't anything special he saw up there, just stars, you see them every night. Although they did seem a little different from the ones in the feudal era, but they were just stars, what really mattered was the moon and it always stayed the same. Good o'll dependable moon.

Instead he settled for turning his head and staring at her, she was so intent on the stars that she wouldn't even notice. He began to analyze her face. Her eyes were so dark, the sky's light and dark contrasting surface reflected perfectly in them. Or did her eyes naturally have a thousand sparkles and twinkles in them? He squinted his own eyes hard to try and figure out the illusion. It seemed very unlikely... _couldn't possibly be natural..._

The hairs on the back of Kagome's neck began to bristle slightly as she stared determinedly at the sky. Why was he watching her so closely, so analytically. What she had originally planned to do was watch where Miroku went and try and figure out everyone else's hiding spots. But when she had sat down the sky had caught her attention first. It was almost the same as the sky from the Feudal era, but there were some differences. Where some webs of stars had been thick and bright, were now thin and dulled. And were some stars had glowed faint and stretched, were now bright, together and polished. But this was all subtle in little areas, the sky other wise was none too changing. It was a perplexing sight. How had all those changes come? How long would it continue to change?

She was only going to watch for another minute, and then scout the landscape around her, when she had noticed Inuyasha sit, and then begin to watch her. Now she was nervous, and didn't want to move, breath, or look at him, just stare straight up. It was weird being watched like that, she had even noticed his stare begin to pinch and strain on her. _My god _what was wrong with him? She was kind of creeped out and yet strangely flattered at the same time. That she was that interesting a subject to be watched so closely. But damn him and his sticky stare, she couldn't do anything under it!

She turned sharply towards him, now glaring coldly due to her building frustration. "Inuyasha…" Her glare melted into tepid confusion at seeing that his own eyes were no longer strained, but open wide in innocent curiosity and awe. She then froze as he reached a hand towards her face and rested two fingers on her temple. And then goosebumped as they slid smoothly to the outer corner of her eye, lightly skimming her thick lashes softly. Stowing a deep anxious breath inside her she peered questioningly up at him.

"Your eyes…sparkle, glow" he commented softly at last as he withdrew his hand. Sliding down her cheek and off her chin as he drew it back into his lap.

Her eyes had tiny lights in them, as if poured full of emotions. Their embers flaring at every turn her thoughts took. A glow of mirth, and then a flare of anger rippling up onto the surface. All fighting against the deep current of her eye's amber depths. Damn, when had he become so deep? All he knew was that they were beautiful, he had never seen any eyes like them before. At moment's before he had noticed when teasing her that they would twinkle, as if she had a secret. It always bugged him because he knew that what ever she was hiding, no way in hell was she telling him. But it wasn't a bad twinkle; it kind of reminded him of the twinkle you saw in pictures of… _Santa Clause_ he pondered aloud "like Santa Clause."

A pinch on his arm, began to tug him out of thought, and "ouch" was it him, or had a crab climbed and clobbered his arm?

"Ahh—STOP THAT!" he demanded harshly to the girl now glaring stonily at him, as he shuved her hand off of his arm. He couldn't understand how she could change moods like that. One minute her gaze is gentle and warm and next it burns your skin. "What are you Bipolar?"

"Hurts your feelings doesn't it!" she cried, fire blazing in her eyes.

"Well, not my feelings.." he defended.

"Really" She whispered ignoring the comment "Santa Clause? My eyes remind you of Santa Clause?" She leaned in closer to him, so they were eye to eye. And only saw confusion, she softend a little, just a little! The boy had basically called her a fat man with a beard, who ran around shouting HOHOHO! "That is _not_ the kind of pick up line that makes a girl swoon ya know."

"Who say's it's a pickup line, I was just calling it like it is." he hadn't meant it like that, but she could be so frustrating some times, taking everything he said the wrong way. He had been giving her a compliment. Was it his fault that he wasn't good with words? "Keh, never mind" he shifted around so that his back was facing her, and stared grumpily at the roof's shingles.

Now Kagome felt bad, she had obviously hurt him in some way. And really it wasn't bad what he had said about her eyes, just not romantic. santa's eyes did twinkle...But really how could she expect romantic from Inuyasha? Why would she even want it in the first place? Silly silly, she wouldn't make that mistake again. Friends! all she would ever expect from a male was friendship...as it should be.

She put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder and leaned around to look up at him, she smiled " I'm glad you like my eyes Inuyasha."

Woah! Okay, This is what he had meant. One moment as brutal as a storm, the next as calm and fresh as a stream on a sunny day. Her smile was really pretty too...just saying.

He blushed and turned his cheek "you didn't seem to think so a minute ago" he mumbled.

"I've… changed my mind" she piped.

He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her over to sit next to him. He ruffled the top of her hair affectionately with his other hand "you have pretty eyes."

"You have pretty hair" she countered.

"They sparkle."

"It shines"

"Hey—what kind of fight is this?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She playfully elbowed him in the ribs "it isn't one genius."

She watched a small smile form at the corner of his mouth, and then his ear began to twitch. And suddenly he had grabbed her around the waist, slung her over his back. And they were in a tree, hidden deep in its foliage, a few feet away from the gazebo. It had happened so fast, she was about to ask why he had done that when she heard a creak coming from the roof of the gazebo and saw Miroku step onto it from a tree on the other side. _Oh _she mouthed silently as she strengthened her grip around his neck; she was actually quite comfortable like this

"Anybody up here?" he looked around.  
Kagome inwardly scoffed, like anyone in their right mind would tell the seeker where they were hiding.

"No one?" Miroku question again as he sat down and pulled a chocolate he had found recently on the ground out of his pocket. he listened for a reply one last time before he mumbled "Good" and then promptly began to stuff his face.

This made Kagome angry, he was _ruining_ the game! She was about to shout something when Inuyasha's temper beat her to it. "WHAT THE HELL" they landed softly in front of Miroku. "There were more of these?" Inuyasha questioned wide eyed, as he grabbed the half eaten chocolate out of Miroku's hand and began to munch on it.

Kagome smaked her forhead, she should have known, of course he wouldn't be upset about the same thing as her. "Miroku this is not how you play hide-n-seek" she spoke up as she slid off of Inuyasha's back and stood with her hands on her hips. Her lips forming a thin bitter smile. "You have just ruined the game. I hope you're happy!" She then slapped the chocolate out of Inuyasha's hand, "and ew, gross, that's probably got sand on it."

–she was right.

"Whats going on? You guys talk really loud" Ayume had just climbed up with Sango, both looking a little disgruntled, as if they had been played.

"Why isn't everyone hiding?" Koga had just jumped up onto the edge of the roof and looked lost.

"Miroku decided we weren't worth finding.." Kagome spat, she was terribly disturbed about her game being ruined like that.

"Well" said Koga, "I guess it's time I get home, kind of tired." He then ran over to Kagome, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Fare thee well… oh shining star" he poetically serenaded her. And then he was gone leaving a red tomato faced Kagome staring blankly after him.

"Umm" she stammered, "I did nothing to warrant that—I swear!"

Everyone laughed, except Inuyasha who scowled.

"Well I guess it's time we headed out too", Sango hugged Kagome and then put an arm around Ayume, steering them towards a tree. "See ya guys at school tomorrow!"

"Ladies!" Miroku ran after them "Wait for me!"

Kagome and Inuyasha suddenly found themselves alone in the swiftly cooling night. "Uh" Kagome looked helplessly at him "Hojo was my ride home, but I guess he got lost on the way here.."

"Oh" Inuyasha mumbled while climbing down the tree, leading the way for Kagome.

"I guess I could give you a ride home"

She smiled brightly at him, "thanks!" and she skipped all the way to his car. He smiled inwardly and ran after her.

**O.O**

Inuyasha slammed the smoke demon hound against the tree, and tore a red line down its body. The hound roared within the pit of its own flames as it died. He threw its smoldering carcass away and moved swiftly through the forest to find more, there had been a lot around today, running away from some place in the south. He could smell a deep stench of fear and smoke coming from there.

He grew more fired up as he worked his way towards the stenches source. Bored he reveled on his day at school before he came back to the feudal era. Kagome hadn't come to school. He wondered if she was sick, or if something had happened... He had been looking forward to seeing her bright happy smile from the trees as she entered the school, and wanted to tease her about the bonfire the night before. But he didn't see her at the gate, and her desk remained empty the rest of the day. It was kind of dissapointing.

Three smoke hounds jumped out in front of him, snarling as steam wafted up from there nostrils. He slashed them away and followed there path into a thick sheet of smoke….what the hell had happened. Bounding past a screen of smoke he could see that he was in a village. A few huts were on fire, but that wasn't where the majority of the smoke was coming from. Oh, wow, it was all coming from a giant hell hound, fire trailing her limbs. but he was even more surprised to something small was facing it in a fighting stance.

It was the Miko, Priestess Kago-ao-koke. Pools of blue, green, and purple streamed from her fingers, encasing the beast. He could feel their purifying magic envading the air, humming with life. She looked tired. Like she had been fighting for too long. She stood panting as beads of sweat poured slickly down her forehead and disappeared under her veil.

It looked like she was winning too. The little hounds he had been encountering had been fleeing from the battle sight, and it was the hound's fear he could smell in the air, not hers. actually, he couldn't really smell her at all, how had she hidden her scent like that? didn't matter, it looked like she might need some help. This was one hell of an aponent.

A wind began to blow as he ran further into the battle seen, clearing some of the smoke from view, and leaving a clearer sight of her, and the same of himself. And that was when it happened. She turned her head, and saw him. She froze, her defenses dropping in her surprise.

**O.O**

There he was, silky white strands of hair carried up in the smoky wind like a sail. Golden eyes watching her with interest, "I-Inuyasha..."

**O.O**

**A/N: Okay so it was _kind of_ damsel in distress action, I mean she almost fell off the roof!**

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5 the waterfall

**_A/N: Inuyasha disclaimer: I birdhummingalong solemnly disclaim Inuyasha. _**

**_O.O_**

The smoke and dust powdering the air cast his face in a foggy, dreamy shadow, but to her it seemed that his physic as a whole remained untouched by it. As if he were too powerful for the tainting smoke to even graze.

_It couldn't be him_ her mind cried frantically. _How could he be here? Did he find my well?_ It had never been mentioned to her by her family that a boy with white hair had been poking around it, she didn't understand how he was here. She slammed her eyelids tight together. As if they could shut out the crazy scenario if she only squeezed them hard enough. _This is all just my imagination, he is just a mirage created by the smoke. He is not real. When I open my eye's…he will be gone. _

She took a deep calming breath and began to open her eyes, only to be knocked down by a heavy force.

Crap

She fell, landing hard on the packed dirt of the village's dusty road. Pain laced up her side where she had fallen and leached in spasms all the strength out of her body. Faint, she propped herself up on her elbow and looked weekly towards were the blow had come from.

Her view of the hell hound was blocked, by him. He was holding a large sword, shaped and branded like a great ivory tooth. It gleamed, illuminating the smoke into eerie sparkles as it struck the great hell bitch. Kagome gasped in surprise, causing her to suck up musky dust as the Hell Hound evaporated into a defeated mist. She coughed, grasping at her bruised chest, and looked up. He was still there, he was real.

He was looking at her.

But it wasn't him, or at least it couldn't be. Because the Inuyasha she knew was not this strong and did not have such an exquisite sword, or a sword at all for the matter. But Inuyasha could very well be strong, know how to yield a sword, and just be hiding it from everyone in the future. Like how she hid her miko powers. But that didn't seem like something Inuyasha would do. It seemed like something he would want to flaunt it in everyone's gaping faces. She smirked, she could just imagine him swinging the big heavy sword around at school. Knocking desks over with it, and laughing. Challenging Koga with it. Striking poses with it. Slicing logs for the bonfire with it, and chopping up vegetables with it… well the last one was a bit excessive.

There were many stupid things she could imagine him doing with it, because Inuyasha enjoyed doing stupid things. Men enjoyed doing stupid things...something about high testosterone levels taking over their body's, her mother had once said.

But then she remembered the night before at the bonfire, his gentle eyes and strong safe arms. And she thought _well maybe this hunk of brave and hero could be Inuyasha._ But then she also got a lovely visual of him slurping ramen. _No_, she thought _this could not be Inuyasha._ Again she looked up at him.

He was smirking. A smirk that looked very, very familiar to Kagome

–It was him, she just knew it!

Inuyasha was five hundred years in the past. He had just defeated a gigantic Hell Hound Bitch with a giant shiny tooth like sword that could very well parallel the weight of an African elephant. And he was just standing there, smirking at her like as if he had just done the most awesome, manly thing in the world. It was an almost taunting smile, like he didn't even recognize that it was just weak helpless Kagome on the ground he had shone up, not a rival.

Her heart squeezed. She began to hyperventilate, did he recognize her? Fabric slid soothingly across her lips and chin as her jaw moved up and down with her frantic, heavy breathing. What if he recognized her, what would she do? Say? And then she realized it. He couldn't recognize her because of her veil. Well she was at _quite_ an advantage here. For all she knew he could be some super evil ancestor of Inuyasha's. Come to find out her identity, kill her, and then travel back the future through her well to tell the real Inuyasha about it. Right? –Okay, so that was also far fetched. She didn't have time to reflect on it though. Her body gave out, as darkness's thick wooly blanket bundled her.

She had fainted.

**O.O**

_Aww crap, she fainted_. Damn, it was a totally clishe move, _all the freaking damsels in distress do it_ Inuyasha thought gloomily, dropping his now small and rusty sword into its sheath. And just when he was about shove the fact that he had saved her priestly ass in her face. Out at the most inoportune of moments! But he began to soften his wratj as he looked at her sprawled helplessly on the ground. She must have been using a lot of purifying power to tucker out so bad. And he was right, the beast had already been more than half defeated when he had arrived, it only needed one small finishing slice from him to end its life.

Although he was still confused as to why she had frozen. One minute she had blue and green rays whipping the monster, and the next she had all colors previously streaming from her fingers, diluting slowly into the smoke as she stared at him, totally spooked. Was he really that amazing of a sight? he didn't have time to wonder just then she had done the most stupid and careless thing a person could do during a battle, she had closed her eyes, just as the beasts smoldering paw was headed straight for her. He had no choice but to knock her down out of the way, and defeat the Hell Hound himself. It seemed like she took a pretty hard fall though...now that he thought about it. And he was a bit upset that he hadn't been gentler with her, but hey, at least she wasn't a pile of ash.

What he really wanted to know was he wanted to know where the hell had the hell hounds come from? Heh, pun. But he couldn't ask her that question until she woke up...He looked around quickly, checking to see if anyone was watching. Hmm, no one, It looked like the whole town had evacuated. He then scooped her up carefully in his arms and ran back to Kaede. The feeling of her light weight in his arms taunting dejavu into throwing tiny little pins angrily at his head. He did not notice them at all. He ran straight for his home.

**O.O**

Green, brown, and many other tiny sparks of color flew in great blurs past Kagome as she listened to the faint pat of feet, and crunching leaves and twigs. She lay confused and dazed for a moment before looking up at her holder. Golden eyes, silver hair… she gasped as memories attacked her throbbing skull. Not strong enough to withstand the heavy pressure on her forehead, she allowed darkness to rap its heavy vines around her ankles and pull her back under.

**O.O**

"No I will not allow it!"

"WHY THE HELL NOT?"… "wait… WHO DO YOU THINKS IN CHARGE HERE?"

The yelling soon reached Kagome's ears, slightly muffled by blankets. She was just so tired. Why couldn't they shut up and let her sleep? She began to open her warm, heavy lids, only to quickly realize that the shouting had stopped and let them fall shut. Maybe they were done yelling now…and she could sleep. She loosened her tense shoulders as she began to relax and fall…fall..

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"—" Anonymity is a right of the Miko's, it is against the law for you to take off her veil!"

Kagome flinched at the blaring, intrusive sound inching her slowly awake.

"She is in my care, and my castle…"—" Aren't you even curious about what kind of face is under that frilly thing.?"

Kagome had had enough. She was dead tired, and they were disturbing her sleep! She had almost returned to her previous slumber, but was interrupted by two loud, aggravating voices. Again.

"SHUT UP!" she half yelled, half mumbled. Her bubble of happy warm unawareness burst brutally. She rolled over onto her side clutching a pillow to her chest. Only to squeake and frantically fling herself back into her previous position as she felt heat flare up her side. She rubbed her soar side as hot tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes, but did not flow. That had really hurt.

Two heads peered around the edge of the door frame and then disappeared unoticed by Kagome nursing her side. Anxious loud whispers reached Kagome from the other side of the wall and she ridirected her head quickly to catch small glimpses of wildly gesturing arms. "Toto" she whispered conspiratorially to herself, "I don't think were in Kansas anyomore."

"She is awake!"… "What do we do?" A male voice whined.

"This is silly, we walk in there and ask her how she is feeling" a grandmotherly voice echoed.

They were not getting any quieter… Kagome groaned into her pillow.

" ..what if she thinks we kidnapped her?"

She sat up quickly, had she been kidnapped?

Naw… She relaxed back into her pillows. Then why was she here? Heat, smoke and a beast…golden eyes… pain up her side…a smirk…running feet, and warm arms. All these things flashed across her mind. And she realized that this must be the _"Inuyasha imposter's" _house. And, she found,Oddly enough, that she felt at ease and not the least bit shocked.

She hopped off the bed, her bare feet landing with a small smack on the floor. Its chill spiking up her feet like angry ice out for revenge.

"G-GAHHH" she yelped, trying to hide her discomfort. Her head rotated around, scanning the room. Royal blue draped around the windows, and dark purple silk lined the bed. It was beautiful, she was somewhere definitely well off.

"Were did the bitch dogs come from?" a forceful male voice demanded. Kagome looked down at her feet to see a shadow growing towards them, she then looked at the door to see Inuyasha stride in.

"_Hell Hounds"_ she whispered looking down again…it felt weird, having him talk to her like he didn't know her. She was actually sad that he evidently didn't know her well enough to be able to recognize her form, veil or no veil.

"I ASKED YOU—" began impatiently, not hearing her nearly none existant whisper in his heated rage.

Anger at his rude impatience grew stronger than the sadness as she retorted loudly. " I said they are Hell Hounds! Not hell bitches, or hell bastards, or whatever you call them." She turned to give him a chilled glare.

He stopped moving forward and just stared eerily at her, his head cocked to the side like a confused dog…(huh, ironic.)

_Uh oh_, she froze, she had said too much, he knew it was her… she needed to change her voice… or something.

"Umm…well I better get back to the village!" she said, her voice now an octave higher than normal. She sounded a bit like olive from popeye. Ughn, not attractive.

"After mom and dad died." she continued with a sigh, bowing her head in mock reverence, "May they rest in peace." She gave a small sniffle as she began walking toward the door, edging around him as he remained dumbstruck. "Kagura, the demon slayer of the air, has been taking care of me. She must be _terribly_ worried."

She was almost past the threshold when she turned to be met by two soft brown eyes in an old feminine weather beaten face.

"I'm sorry Priestess Kago-ao-koke" the friendly face that was blocking her path to freedom said.

"Please, call me Kago" Kagome blurted automatically without thinking. _Omg…is it too close to my name?_ She thought terrified, looking back at Inuyasha's ever remaining puzzled face. Had she just given herself away?

"Kago, in your condition," the old woman continued without skipping a beat. And kogome bounced her skeptical glance back to her. "I'm sorry to say that it is not safe for you to travel back to the south by yourself in your condition."

This was not good. Her parent's would be so worried if she didn't come home, they might not let her come back. "I really appreciate you helping me…" she wasn't sure what the old woman's name was.

"It's Kaede"

"Kaede, but I really have to get back…" she pressed.

"I'll accompany her" Inuyasha was now facing them, finally out of his "_huh?"_ Stage, his eyes set expectantly on Kaede.

Kaede cleared her throat. "Ah yes this is Lord Inu, he brought you here when you fainted in the battle with the Hell Hound."

Well duh, Kagome had already gathered that much. But at least the lady was civil. She couldn't quite say the same for- wait, Lord?

"Least you could do is thank me for saving your sorry ass." Inuyasha added haughtily, quirking an eyebrow.

Kagome was fuming… Lord Inu huh? He was way to rude to be a Lord! So she remained sceptical of that. But there were two things she was sure of. One, he was definitely Inuyasha. And two, she needed to get back and he was her only way. She gave a brief glance to his cocky stance and raised her brow.

But he was so IR-A-TAT-ING! "No way, am I going back with him!" she barked as she stomped her way out the door. Her steps quieting as she tuned down a second hall, and then came to a complete stop as she realized that she was lost.

"Ya lost huh?" she turned to see Inuyasha leaning comfortably against the wall beside her, addressing her with steady, sure eyes. She flinched like a startled bird, how was he so damn sneaky?

"No… I was just admiring your—" she looked around the cold stone corridor. "—um _tastefully _decorated halls." She quirked an eyebrow to add some jazz to her sarcastic statement. And with that she began to walk away. No way was she staying to talk to some _Lord_ jerk.

"You're going the wrong way."

She stopped, shrugging he rshoulders. He was probably right. He did live here after all. Or, if her assumption was correct, lived here part time. "Fine, lead the way."

"You have to say the magic words first."

"Please?" she tried.

"I said _words_ not word."

Alright, this was going to take some effort. She laced her fingers together and held them dramatically to her chest, looking up at him with big eyes and pouting lips…not that he could even see her lips, she was just getting into character.

"Would you _please_ show me the way out?" she stressed the word please as she sauntered close, fluttering her glossing eyes in mock helplessness. She leaned up against him, "I would _really_ appreciate it." She gave a big grin, so he could see the smile lines form on the rims of her pleading eyes.

"Umm" his chest more than his throat rumbled. Suddenly a bit confused he backed up against the wall. "You were going the right way, I just wanted to see you squirm." He admited before he had even realized it. How the hell did she do that? Didn't matter, time to get going. He coughed looking away and began to walk towards the exit, knowing she'd maybe he should tell her his intentions, before she magically pulled them out of him, that is.

Scratching the back of his head nervously, he looked back where she stood oddly dumbstruck. " I'll… take you home" and then he disappeared around the corner. Hoping that she hadn't seen him blush.

_Wow _she thought, still shocked. she put a hand on her hip as she cocked her head to the side, watching him walk away. He had actually out smarted her. But what a rascal making her think she was going the wrong way just to get her to say please! She didn't even have to get into helpless sweet maiden mode. She had been looking forward to playing that character. She should have just walked away. She could have won! Dam it!

His head reappeared with a pop from behind the wall, "You coming?" he asked.

"Umm" she looked around, gathered her skirts and ran after him. She would get him back…somehow.

But somehow she found herself smiling. So she carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as their figures rounded a corner and walked out the door. Fading into the blinding sunlight, rare to the late afternoon.

**O.O**

"So" Kagome started, drawing her fingers languidly along the ruff underside of a tree branch as she ducked neatly under it. "What do you like to do in your free time? You know when you're not running the North…"

This was perfect, she could ask him anything and act anyway she wanted. He didn't know who she was…and really how was he supposed to answer that question. What would he say? Would he say; um yeah, I go to a school 500 years in the future, where I torture my friends by stealing there chocolate, and then I get food made in these awful things called _cafeterias_ were I eat like a pig and then I… Yep she could have a lot of fun with this. However, his honest responce surprized her.

"I like to travel and chart out the North, I'm working on a map of it. I'm only half way through though." He was looking at her, his hand frozen on a branch he had been moving out of the way.

Her frigid heart melted, his reply felt honest to her even though she knew he wasn't telling her everything. Right then and there she made a fleeting decision. And beaming she skipped ahead of him stopping just a few feet ahead to beckon him closer.

Puzzled, and not sure what she was up to, he walked over to her. She held out a hand for him. He took it, and felt her squeeze his lightly, this was weird. He barely knew this chick and she was already getting pretty...friendly. He watched anxiously for clues as to her intent.

She inhaled a deep breath of the forest, water, and plants that surrounded them. Kagome let the sounds of chorusing birds and persistent winds pooling through the leaves reach her ears, as she searched for one distant sound she knew very well. "I think maybe you should map in some places in the south." She suggested lightly, turning her head away from him as she found the sound she was looking for. " Let me show you a place more than good enough for your map." And then they were off and running, an eager and only slightly limping Kagome pulling an anxious and confounded Inuyasha by the hand through the forest.

Her eyebrows pushed downward in concentration as their fleeting steps echoed off the trees and shook the ground. She had decided that she wouldn't try and get back at him, that she would just try and have fun with him instead. He had opened up a little to her and she would do the same for him, except more.

Kagome led them through a wall of vines, hanging like a thick twining curtain off of the surrounding trees. She pulled back a section, not even blinking at the incredible density it held.

Behind the first segment of vines there were more vines and after that even more vines. As they began to walk through them, the layers of vines never seemed to thin. But Kagome kept on steady, not even commenting on the green tweed ropes that seemed to go on forever. She acted as if possessed by something strong and beguiling behind the wall calling her forward at all costs.

The suspense was _killing_ Inuyasha.

"Uh priestess Kago…does it ever sto—p" Inuyasha cut his steps short. He could hear the sound of running water as the priestess pulled back the last thicket of the vines, giving him a wide view of several small pools of water surrounding a large pool at the center.

Hot water poured in the form of a waterfall and rolled from high up into the middle pool. Sending the frothing water from the large pool lightly over the edges in small little water falls of its own into the smaller pools. Steam rolled off the top of the water like smoke off of flames.

The water was a different color of blue in every pool. Some a deep aqua blue and some a more of an emerald or sky blue. Small and simple flowers and intricate exotic flowers traced softly over their edges, along with a delicate green moss that webbed across the stones cracked surface.

Inuyasha couldn't believe he hadn't heard the waterfall before. With his Hanyoi ears, he should have. He thought maybe the thick walls of Ivy had made the place sound proof. After all the place was surrounded by the stuff. But then, how did the Miko find it?

He turned a puzzled grin at her…how had she found it?

She too was smiling at him, he could see the crinkling around her eyes. "Do you like it?" Came her slightly muffled voice from under the fabric.

He thought it was amazing, but all he did was mumble "uh huh" and then re-glued his eyes upon the mouth watering spectacle. A moment later he felt a shadow fall on him, the Miko had neared his shoulder. "Ya think it might be good enough for your map?" She whispered airily near his delicate, now twitching ears.

"Possibly" he called, breathless in his desire for the beckoning water. He stripped his shoes, sword, and shirt, and dived straight into its overflowing depths.

Kagome raised her eye brows at seeing his smooth, shirtless torso. Her heart beating a little faster than before. It was okay, she could handle it, he was only _half _naked. But her eye's continued to widen as she took in his strong, masculine arms pushing against the water. His well defined chest and lithe abs pulsing with each stroke through the water. She decided she would just sit and enjoy the view.

The water was hot and smooth, its fresh flower and dewy water scent delectable.

He dived under and then burst up sharply from under the water, throwing his head back and inhaling the deep scent that seemed magnified after entering the pool. He turned his wet head toward the distinct feminine sound of giggles.

Kagome was feeling a bit giddy as she watched him burst from the water like merman. Weird analogy, but really it was a pretty sight. His wet white hair shooting back and clinging to his muscled back, his yellow eyes glowing with content.

The Miko was sitting on the edge of the grotto, her ankles dipping daintily into the water; he didn't understand why she didn't just come in.

She just smiled at him when there eyes met, and then began kicking her feet languidly back and forth.

The sight gave him a comfortable nostalgic feeling, so much so that he started to hum as he flipped onto his back and floated around the pool.

"So how did you discover this place" he asked, while trilling water through his fingers, eyeing the thin green net of vines above him, with shoots of golden light falling through.

She knew he was going to ask this and she had prepared her self, but she still didn't want to tell him.

"I was kind of exploring, just walking around the forest…" she started.

"And?"

She gave him a warning look before she went on. "Well, the forest was so, so peaceful that I… I.." she began fiddling with a piece of moss, avoiding his eager eyes.

"You?" he set himself on his feet and stared expectantly at her. "You what?" She was taking forever to get to the point. But he trying to was be as patient as possible, _she better be damn grateful for that. _

"I started singing" the words rushed out of her lips like the heated waterfall.

He flipped back onto his back, now officially not that interested on what she had to say next. This story was obviously not going anywhere. But not being able to help his small twinge of curiosity, he asked, "So what does singing have to do with how you found this place?" He gestured lazily with his hands at the paradise.

She glared at his skepticism as she ripped up and threw a piece of moss angrily at him "It has _everything_ to do with how I found this place!"

He lifted his head up and raised an eyebrow doubtfully at her, he didn't see how singing could be _that _important. but he didn't question her, she was a little crazy after all. however,his temper got the best of him. He was tired of her taking so damn long to get to the point. And he did not like having moss on his nose, he yelled back at her, "Then hurry up and tell the damn storey!"

Her forehead wrinkled in aggravation, but she continued. "So I had been taking a rest by a tree, and had begun singing." She paused and looked around at the scenery, a distant, soft look entering her eyes. "As I was singing, I began to hear the far off sound of a waterfall. Realizing I was actually quite thirsty I followed the sound. And I was so into the song, that I didn't stop singing as I searched for the waterfall." Inuyasha was a little compelled by this, she could hear the waterfall, while he couldn't.

"I found a wall of ivy, and could hear the sound of the waterfall behind it, but not only that, I could hear the sound of all the tiny little waterfalls also, together with the sound of insects and birds, it sounded like one big beautiful song" she sighed at the memory. "So I found my way through the vines, and ended up here." Her eyes returned to the present as they connected with his.

"Now, I don't have to sing to hear the waterfall, I can just hear it if I listen really hard."

Inuyasha didn't say anything, he was too busy trying to figure out the storey she had told him. Singing, really, it made no sense. He, himself had also began to fiddle with the moss that had landed on him, as he thought.

The sound of water being pulled and then dropped somehow managed to reach his ears through his jumbled thoughts. He could see that the sound was the Miko drawing her feet out of the water. "We should go" she said airily, and then danced ahead of him on wet toes to go pick up her bow and arrows.

Inuyasha threw himself out of the water and began to shake himself dry as fast as he could. He hated the feeling of cold air running across wet skin and hair, cold equaled icky.

He stopped shaking though when he saw that the Miko was shaking too. Shaking with laughter.

"What?" he barked, a little disgruntled, now ringing out his wet mop of hair.

"Wet" she gasped, grasping at her stomach, "dog." She hastily wiped the tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes before straightening up and apologizing. " I'm sorry, it's just with those ears, and your hair…and then you started shaking the water off, you just reminded me so much of a wet dog!" she continued chuckling daintily. Although, to her credit, she showed great signs of trying to stop for his prides sake.

Inuyasha was not amused. "Hmph" he grumbled before slapping on his shoes and holster. With bunched fists and a pushed out chest, he made his haughty exit out of the vines.

"Well you have absolutely _no _sense of humor whatsoever!" she called after him, her arms waving up in exasperation before she also began stomping out.

Inuyasha just smirked behind her as he allowed her to lead the way to her village. He thought she was a very interesting girl and would probably be a lot of fun, and trouble.

He noticed that she seemed to have more energy than before, each step she now took carrying a slight bounce.

He also noticed that a little while after they had left the grotto, he could still hear the waterfall.

**O.O**

Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound of clinking silverware and dishes being laid on the dining room table and his nose sniffed at the smell of baking lasagna as he entered his house.

"Inuyasha!" His mother rounded the corner, a strange clanking sound following her with each step. Inuyasha raised a brow as he noticed the sound come form the hands she had set firmly on her hips they were laden with silverware. Evidently he hadn't shut the door quietly enough to be overlooked. "This is the fourth time in a row that you have been gone all day."

Her tone was rough as she nagged him, "you can't just disappear for the whole day and expect me not to worry!" she shook her head at him, her dark, silky locks dancing around her waist. "Your father is _not_ happy."

"I don't see why it matters" he mumbled, pulling out a chair and sitting. "He's never happy about anything I do." He looked down at his plate, to avoid contact with his mothers withering stare. How did she do that? Make him feel like shit when he really wasn't doing anything wrong.

"The lasagna should be ready by now, I'm going to go check on It." She really didn't feel like arguing with him right now. "Would you tell your brother dinner is ready?" she called over her shoulder as she walked back into the kitchen. "And could you try and do it nicely this time, he just got back from the dojo and is probably tired and cranky. I want a nice family dinner tonight."

"Sure" Inuyasha breathed, and then leaned his head towards Sesshomaru's room. "SESSHOMARU…DINER!"

His mother's furious face returned to give him a harsh stare, "Inuyasha!"

"What" he shrugged "you said to do it nicely."

"And you call that nice?" she said as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Yeah…" he propped his foot on the table and began to rock back in his chair. "It's way nicer than what I did last time." He bragged "last time I—oomph—_what the hell_!"

Sesshomaru had just walked in, grabbed the back of Inuyasha's chair and pulled. Inuyasha was now fuming on the floor while his brother walked silently to his seat.

"What happened?" his mother called from the kitchen.

"Nothing" Inuyasha mumbled, getting up. His eye's narrowed as he sent waves of hate toward his stoic uncaring brother.

**O.O**

"So, Inuyasha what have you been up to today?" Inuyasha's father asked between a bite of lasagna.

"I don't know, hanged with my friends I guess" he said shrugging. He knew where this was going. And he didn't like it.

"Inuyasha, I don't understand why you have to be so useless. I know that you have fighting ability, it runs in our family." He sighed as he gave his son a disappointed look. "Why don't you join a dojo like your brother? He has won so many trophies; don't you want excel at something?"

Inuyasha growled under his breath, his father was always trying to get him to be like his older brother. His father didn't understand that Sesshomaru was the last person he wanted to be like.

"I know I disappoint you!" he yelled, slamming his fork on the table, suddenly frustrated. He had had a long day.

"If you would just—" his father shouted standing up. But he stopped when he noticed that Inuyasha was no longer in his seat, but half way out the front door.

Inuyasha was silent as he left. He needed to find somewhere quiet to cool off.

As he was walking along the street, he noticed an empty coffee shop called _Naraku's Great Coffee Carnival. _

Weird name, but it seemed harmless enough.

**O.O  
**

Kagome was calmly wiping down the counter when she heard the bell. Someone had entered, she looked up and froze, seeing Inuyasha walk in and sit calmly at a table.

Butterflies flittered about her stomach, how should she react? Did he know that she was the miko? She had just seen him a little while ago, how was she supposed to act like she hadn't seen him since yesterday? How was she supposed to act like she hadn't just shown him one of her most treasured places five hundred years in the past? How was she supposed to pretend that she wasn't angry at him for being rude to her, and happy that he had liked her little paradise? And most importantly, how in the world was she going to be able to hide the blush that crept across her cheeks when ever she thought of him without his shirt on?

Oh god this was tough and he was getting up. He probably wanted to order some coffee. She squeaked as she dropped her towel behind the counter and got down on her hands and knees to "retrieve" it, before he could see her face.

She continued to pretend to search for it, her hands running blindly in front of her over the smooth tile as he made his way to the counter. Hopefully he wouldn't notice she was there, or would give up on getting his order taken when he noticed that she was...slightly indesposed! She was not ready for this confrontation, she needed to at least have a good nights sleep and a hot bath first.

"Ahem" the irritated throat clearing ascended annoyingly from above her. Damn it, he knew she was there. He was getting pretty impatient too it sounded like. She could hear his long finger nails rapping in a stoic beat on the counter top, she rolled her eyes.

Alright then, she cracked her knuckles, her hands still shaking from nervousness. She stood up fast flipping her hair over her shoulder and began tucking straying strands behind her ears. She didn't look up at him as she spoke in a plastic, fake, cheery voice; "Hello welcome to Naraku's…" she then looked up at him, and let the look of confusion and fluster hit her eyes. " Inuyasha!" she gasped, bringing a hand to her chest. "What are you doing here? What a surprise!"

"Kagome?" he raised an eyebrow as his eyes widened also with surprise. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah" she said, "I have to lock myself in a closet half of the time to keep myself from bragging about it." she laughed apprehensively at her sarcasm.

"I haven't seen you all day, why didn't you come to school?"

"Oh" she blushed, now rapping her nails on the counter also, but out of nervousness instead of impatience. "I'm not feeling" she brought her hand to her mouth and gave a meek cough "very well" she lied.

He leaned close and surveyed her with suspicious eyes. "You don't look ill."

She began to sweat lightly, her heart thrumming faster beneath her chest. O_h god _she thought_, he knew. _

Taking in her slightly frazzled condition, her wetting brow, and disdained expression. He scratched his head, "Never mind, you actually don't look all too great."

She narrowed her eyes at that. She couldn't believe he had just told her she didn't look too great, it wasn't something a guy would normally tell a girl. Had he no conscious? This was why she knew they would never get too close, because he had to go and say things like that. He was just too irresponcibly blunt!

"Man, that look is _so_ familiar." She managed to hear Inuyasha's comment through the thick mist of her steaming thoughts. It didn't surprise her that he found the look of her rage so familiar. He ticked her off a lot and so had probably seen the look many a time.

She ignored his comment though and decided to get professional. "What can I get you?"

He stopped his rapping nails, at her words. He though it was funny how he had seen the look now in her eyes also in the veil shadowed eye's of the priestess from the feudal era. In fact they had a lot of similarities.

"I just wanted some water, it's really too late for me to be having coffee."

Odd, those words sounded way too responcible to be leaving Inuyasha's lips. "Uh, sure" she said, still a little awkward and shaky with her words at the possibility of being caught. She threw some ice and water in a cup as she watched him, saunter over to a table and collapse oh so guyishly into the chair. He was supporting his weight on his arms propped on the table, looking down. He seemed to be in deep thought.

Timidly she set the wader on the table, pulled out a chair on the other side of the small round table and sat, studying his unusual seriousness.

His white brow was bent into his glossed golden eyes, tinted with a somber mahogany.

Inuyasha couldn't stop thinking about how angry he was at his father, so he decided to try and figure out the mysterious showing of those hell bitch things. He wondered if maybe Kagome new anything about ancient demons, of course in the sense of them being folklore.

He looked up at her, were she sat studying him, "Hey Kagome?"

"Yeah?" She perked up, she was feeling more at ease sitting down. And was used to being just Kagome to him now.

"Do you know anything about Hell Bitches?" he questioned.

Kagome rolled her eyes," Hell Hounds" she corrected, the words were out of her mouth before she had time to hastily snatch them back. Crap! She gulped.

"Whatever" Inuyasha rolled his eyes also, before he realized who this correction had just come from. "How do you know that?" he demanded, his tone dark and serious. He backed up in his chair, now freaked out.

Kagome's insides were a mess, every fiber of her body vibrating with panic, but she somehow managed to keep a straight face as she though fast. "Uhm, doesn't everyone know that?"

" No Kagome, not everyone knows that." He informed her, leaning forward, a new intensity lighting in the centers of his eyes. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her firmly toward him. The flickering intensity in his eyes, now a large flame of power burning into hers. "Kagome, how did you know that?" his tone now had a slightly furious, panicky edge to it. What was going on?

**O.O**

**_A/N__: Oh my, does Inuyasha know? Is Kagome caught? Will she finally tell him the truth? _**

**_So much drrrama!_**

_**Well anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter, Please let me know if you enjoyed this one!** _


	6. Chapter 6 sun drenched pixie

**_AN:Standard Inuyasha disclaimer! _**

**_Wow, it has been a while hasn't it…sorry it took so long to come out with this chapter! Writers block is painful! __Good thing I now have an awesome beta to help me through it all! __I dedicate this chapter dutifully to my anonymous beta reader._**

**_But I would also like to give my thanks to my wonderful reviewers, __you all make my day! Or at least you made the day I received your reviews hehe._**

_**O.O**  
_

"I-I-I" Kagome stuttered, as Inuyasha's hands bore down with slight pressure, that her guilt transformed into the feel of hundred pound weights. Nearly paralyzing her mind in fright with his flaring, desperate fury. However, her shocked, reeling mind managed to unearth a plausible explanation. "I am actually a huge fan of demon mythology; I know all about demons, I study them in books. It's just that… it's kind of nerdy so I, umm, didn't want to tell you…" She finally answered timidly, hoping her answer would satisfy him and calm his suddenly railed state. She was not ready to... Her hands shook with fright even at the thought of trying to... face him with her identity unveiled, especially after the day's fluctuating events.

Inuyasha quickly retracted his hands from her shoulders with an unspoken apology at her statement;despondently keeping them fixed on his lap. He wouldn't look her in the eyes, he felt ashamed and remorseful for harming her in his... frantic aggression. she was just a mythology nerd after all, she couldn't help her odd knowledge, of odd things, that related to an odd person in an odd time, after all. Wow that whole thought line was just odd. Time to leave the world of geekdom! "oh...I see"

Kagome immediately regretted the lie, as her gut twisted sickeningly at the deception uncommon to her. She felt fake, she felt like she had betrayed him. They were in the same situation after all, leading secret lives, protecting the lands 500 years in the past and he had been asking her for helpful information. For help, and she had denied him. In a way she felt as thought she had abandoned him, like a puppy . _Poor abandoned little Inu hanyou...wallowing sadly around the big scary world five hundred years in the past, all alone...erm...Snap out of it Kagome, you're in a very delicate position and it needs imediate mending!_

She steeled herself and looked back up at him, and immediately saw see how sorry he was. The poor, unknowing boy radiated regret. Almost to the point of pain with regret. She hated herself for doing that to him. What kind of twisted person was she becoming? She was a positive ghoul that's what kind of person, although, was a ghoul really a person, because that could be argued! Eurgh, not the point. This had to stop. She had to tell him the truth, or it would eat her up inside. "Inuyasha…" she said tentatively, not quite sure how to tell him or entirely certain if she should. Yet she was positive she must say _something_. However just at the precise moment she spoke his name, he found his voice.

"Kagome…" their cheeks both burned as their eyes made awkward eye contact. "Oh sorry…" Inuyasha started bashfully breaking eye contact and looking abashedly off to the side.

"No you go ahead…" Kagome urged, and then smiled encouragingly. She was in absolutely _no_ rush to tell him the truth. He could throw a fit, rant for hours, _anything_ that gave her an excuse to keep her silence for the time being. She was still not sure what to do about the situation or even how best to approach the voodoo-ey topic, seeing as she had just now, so successfully deceived him. No it was all of it, their meeting, the lying, the sharing, it was all just too much for one day. Her emotions were quite rung. No! Yes!... Okay, she needed time to collect herself and quell the butterflies dancing within her.

Inuyasha watched with deep interst Kagome inwardly battling herself, amusement, sadness, anger, all emotions flitted across her unguarded face. Had he really effected her so greatly? His face felt suddenly warm as he was reminded of the funny and sometimes awkward moments he seemed to have with her. The girl was quite chuckle worthy, and well, maybe even trust worthy too. _Hmm, worth a shot. Here goes nothing._ Although, it was something, something big to him. He cast her a drunken grin before he seemed to suddenly recall what he was about to tell her and sobered up with a quick adjustment in his seat. Collecting himself as he readied to speak_,_ "Have you ever…" straightening up slowl_y_, he took a calming breath, steadying his nerves and reaffirming his resolve before he continued. "Ever had something, that you couldn't share with anyone else, and got a load of crap for it?" he asked sounding curious, but with undertones of frustration, seeking someone_, __anyone_ that would hear him and… he didn't know what else, but their was something else. He could never tell his friends and family what he was hiding, that had to remain secret. He knew that, so what he hoped to gain from asking this, he did not know. Yet the need to tell _someone_, it was so powerful. He hated this isolation.

His eyes glazed as he fell deeper into his own mind, and began speaking his inner thoughts aloud for her. "But it's something you find exciting, and tend to think about half the time." His voice turned deep and sour as he finished, bitterness and anger marring his features "but no one is supposed to know, so you keep it hidden inside."

She watched solemnly as he clenched his fist in his shirt, wrinkling the cottony fabric in his frustration. He pinned her with his piercing, honey-gold gaze. In the depths of his eyes the color of captured sunlight turned to stone, shone his anger hurt, confusion and… An unfamiliar beseeching quality she would never have imagined he, _Inuyasha_ the arrogant show-off that he was, could possess. With her eyes, she begged him to continue.

"The pressure it makes," he finally told her " it just builds up… and up" Words seemed to desert him at this point; he fell silent as he closed his eyes and heaved a great shuddering sigh that failed to release any tension .

She could see that he was gripping the side of the round, wooden table, his long, lethal talons digging into the grainy surface creating small gorges. She couldn't stand to see him so shaken. His obvious distress wrapped itself around her heart like a fist sending both shooting pains and a dull ache through her in her sympathy for his pain and loneliness. She truly empathized with him, but…When had they become this close? Close enough that he could open up to her like this and show her his pain? To speak so honestly to her? Usually he lied and joked rather than answer the simplest of questions… where did this trust come from? When had everything gone from light, teasing banter, to...this?

He was describing to her exactly how she had felt before telling her own family about the well, only to a higher extent. The secret of the well must have really been beating upon him. Wearing him down, pressing upon him with a suffocating force she understood only too well. She felt a wash of sympathy, yes, but also of fellowship. She understood him. Probably better than most, and while she may not know why he had not told his family - which she guessed he hadn't seeing his turmoil, she was still a kindred spirit. Someone who knew, unbeknownst to him what he was dealing with. Kagome felt the need to reach out to him, even if she did not reveal her secret, she could try to offer him some small comfort.

Inuyasha was still wrapped in his own thoughts, now silent, when he felt something warm, soft, and light wrap around his hand. He looked down to find another hand placed atop his own, he traced his eyes up its adjoined arm, to find Kagome's affectionate amber glance, the stars in their depths seeming to glow with a warm, twinkling light. The genuine kindness they held sent an unexpected but pleasant flush into his face, and gave him a sense of release if only for a moment from the weight of his secret.

He was glad he had opened up to her. She may not know his predicament, but the understanding and care in her eyes was unmistakable.

She did not berate him for showing weakness and he was not looked down on, as he felt others would do without hesitation. She had no expectations for him to live up to...he was not a disappointment to her. He was simply himself, and she had simply listened. Kagome had given him, just what he had needed. He was grateful, though, he'd _die_ before he'd ever admit it.

They stayed like that for a while, sitting comfortably across from each other. A warm and serene atmosphere weaving a contented melody, like a lullaby around the two friends as they sat in companionable truce. The room empty and quite except for the hushed whispers of their thoughts, until that is… Kagome noticed how late it was, she smiled in apology as the spell of tranquility was broken and then closed down the shop. Both went their separate ways, Kagome down to her home in the Southern part of Tokyo, and Inuyasha to his home in the North.

**O.O**

There are always those magical moments in musicals where the heroin of the story wakes up one sunny morning with a brilliant epiphany just bursting out of her. One could only visualize the light bulb going 'ding!' above her head. As if the most _amazing_ idea EVER entranced her while she slept. She immediately jolts upright in bed, skipping the groggy phase of waking up, and going straight to the Sponge Bob Square Pants, 'I'm READY!' phase. Then the character, newly energized by her inspiration, sings to an upbeat tune about her new dazzling idea or resolution.

A silly little dance follows.

Kagome had a similar dream world revelation, except, unfortunately for her, she didn't escape the groggy side of waking up. But she did hum a little!- Yup that morning she rolled out of bead with a slow heavy, rapped flurry of twisting blankets and night robes, for a quick inspection of the sheet dents running along the side of her face in the sparse glow of morning light and an eager dash to the shower. A sense of both joy and excitement bubbling to the surface despite the early morning fog that damply surrounded her.

She was irrevocably seized by a sense of 'TODAY IS THE DAY!' possession when, in fact, she was blow drying her thick, sopping_, _onyx strands.

For Kagome, blow drying her hair before the mirror was a repetitive, but satisfying ritual. One during which she tends to reflect on life as she analyzes her smiling reflection. So, it was not at all surprising that her epiphany only completely took hold after this activity, when she had formed an idea of _how _to act on her decision. It was only right her decision hit while she had her eyes on her pensive reflection with its silky, now dry, locks dancing playfully around in the mirror.

Yep, many _deep_ reasoning's came to her during her quality mirror time.

Anyways, it was while she was reflecting that she came to the realization that _today_ was the day she would tell Inuyasha her secret identity. And that it was _today_ that she would return to her honest, open, free self again and never look back on her horrid days of lying. Well actually, more like deceitful actions, not necessarily lying_. _But anyhow_, _no more of that nonsense skulking around Inuyasha. No serie Bob. She would be open and friendly with the one friend whom she was absolutely destined to share a secret with, and she would do it today!

She felt elated, charged like a mad robot with endless optimism. She giggled madly and skipped with the lightness of a sun drenched pixie out of the steamy room.

O.O

Kagome threw the front door open, her chin held high and her eyes bright, radiating at the sight of a clear and open blue sky; as if the clouds had been chased away during the night. Maybe even she had been the one to do the chasing. Oh ho ho, no, that was just too silly!

The sunlight welcomed her as it caressed her skin with its gentle warmth in the early morning hour. She couldn't stop thinking about Inuyasha and what she had to tell him. All the flickering memories of him seemed to descend from their floating madness above her head, like a hail storm of leaves tumbling pell-mell through the air to play scenes before her eyes. Which would be quite entertaining in deed. Each striking her with vivid clarity, bringing with it a jolt of remembered emotions. A playful slap from the memory of the grotto, causing a flash of his bare skinned torso across her distant eyes. A soft nudge from the scene on the beach and all she could see was his golden eyes passionately taking in her amber's.

She shivered at the thought of the magnetic pull he seemed to have on her. And as she neared the school she couldn't help her small, curious glances every five seconds to the tree's branches above her. Always scanning obsessively for a flash of red, the color he seemed to wear the most.

"What'cha looking for?" a deep throated whisper breathed into her ear.

"AH!" She squeaked, not sure where the bubble-of-personal-space invading whisperer had come from, she threw her hands up with the stiffness of a Barbie doll and jumped backwards, landing with a soft 'thump' against a firm chest.

Earning her an "Ow…" from her aggressor and a playful, "geez, watch where you're going, would ya?" She then, to her love of being lifted sides delight, found herself being lifted and spun around like a twister wheel to face a devious little hanyou's cocky smirk.

"Inuyasha" she let his name spill softly from her lips as they lifted into a relieved smile. Thank god it wasn't Koga. However, she suddenly remembered that the insolent hanyou had just scared the crap out of her a minute or so ago. She promptly gave him well earned slap on his arm. "What the hell are you running around scaring poor innocent school girls like that for?" she nagged, with a hint of humor. Slightly disgruntled by his abrupt and unexpected sneak attack but also pleased to see him, despite the shock.

"Gahh…. What the hell?" Inuyasha flinched slightly, as if it had hurt.

She turned her nose up, snickering inwardly, "It's only what you get for… Oh wait!" Kagome got a bright look in her eyes as she grabbed the side of his now tense arm for attention, having suddenly remembered her earlier intentions_._ "I have to tel-" And she was going to start telling him her secret when they were interrupted by the blasting bravado of a terribly off tune voice, so obnoxiously close, yet it's source seemingly unidentifiable.

"_Kagome! Is aaaliiiiive… with the sound of muuusiiic_." At hearing her name, Kagome immediately began to flit her head around with the confusion of a pigeon being pummeled by French fries. (Trust me it happens…), Attractive.

"_With songs she hath sung to my heeeaaaart!_" Kagome blushed, that last line was just plain embarrassing! Her frown deepened, okay whoever or whatever was singing needed to stop right NOW! "_She fills my heart with the sound of- AH!_"

As if a certain Hanyoi had read her mind, there was a flash of red and the overtly romanticized, butchered version of The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music came to an abrupt end. As Koga lay knocked out cold on the ground before Kagome, silly hearts still dancing before his love struck eyes.

"Umm… Inuyasha? Don't you think that was just, well uh, I don't know… just a bit harsh?" She had wanted him to stop embarrassing her… not out cold as a cucumber. She held up two fingers in forming the peace symbol for emphasis, to Inuyasha, who was now sittings in the tree above her, "violence is not the answer young Inuyasha." she teased him as she scowled at the K.O'd Koga on the ground, as if knocking him out had not stopped the horrendous sound of his love song.

"Feh" Inuyasha shrugged, unabashed, before fixing his sight on the tree next to his, and hopping off to school.

This rotally ticked Kagome off. Oh goodybye Mr. snobby hanyou, but wait, before you leave wouldn't you like to meet Mr. chivalry? Oh, you've never heard of mr. Chivalry? My, my. Well, _He damn well should have, considering the boy traveled on a regular basis 500 years into the past! _Kagome fumed irritably to herself.

"Oh yeah, that's okay… leave little helpless Kagome to deal with the big KNOCKED OUT WOLF!" she threw her hands up and looked at the sky, her eyes pleading with the heavens for an answer to her suffering. "Cause _any_ girl just up and lift a full grown male YOUKAI!" her voice hid no sarcasm. "Oh yeah, _I_ lift heavy demons all the time… you could call it a hobby or something like that." She called out, barely below a shout in the volume of her voice as she, panting with effort_,_ began to drag Koga begrudgingly towards the school. "And it's not like I was going to tell, him anything IMPORTANT… or anything. Nope, _I_ just wanted to talk about the _weather_!"

She glared down at her burden. "You're HEAVY, ya know that?" she informed the unresponsive youkai. His continuing silence only infuriating her further "ERGH!" she ground out, before giving up and leaving Koga. Today was definitely not turning out the way she had planned. But despite the lost opportunity while walking to school, Kagome remained as determined as a horse struggling to reach a taunting red, juicy apple on a tree branch, just a few inches out of reach. She made a fist and held it dramatically to her chest, she would not give up, _somehow_ she would tell Inuyasha the truth! Whether he wanted it or not!

**O.O**

" Hey susie, did you know a picture is worth a thousand words"

"Why no john that did not occur to me... sounds like way too many words for one little picture to me. Now maybe if the picture were the size of a sky scraper and had millions of little things in it, then maybe it could be..."

_Aha!_ Kagome mentally exclaimed as she involuntarily listened to her neighboring fellow students subtly whisper to each other. - Cowabunga!- She was struck by a brilliant idea of how to tell Inuyasha the truth. Kagome snickered rather loudly as she began to etch a drawing of herself aiming with a bow and arrow at something. This was it, she could just pass him a drawing, suspiciously connecting herself to the Miko on a note or something… and somehow start up a conversation… that would lead to him getting mad and accusing her of being the Miko, and her 'fessing up'. BRILLIANT!

She continued to giggle maniacally, sounding down right evil and clearly up to something devious. Yet somehow she still came off as cute to her able eared neighbors. Such a feat only Kagome could manage.

She had decided to add super long hair, to her drawing, that flowed like strands of silk caught in an airy, super natural wind. What? Might as well make herself look nice since she was already putting so much effort into the drawing… don't judge. When she finally finished she wrote on the bottom, '_remind you of something?_' Then swiftly passed it behind herself to Inuyasha where, with a deceptively avid air, she stared back up at the board where his mother Mrs. Taisho was giving an English lecture; trying to look for all the world as though the _lesson_ were the only thing capable of capturing her elusive attention. However, she still couldn't swipe off the excited grin gracing her lips, but Inuyasha couldn't see that - having been sat in the seat behind her - so it was okay.

She kept her eyes front, anticipation dancing in their starry depths; this was going to be fun! The wait was excruciatingly long as she envisioned how Inuyasha would respond; it took every ounce of her will to stay still in her seat.

_Finally_ she could hear the light scraping of a pencil behind her and before she knew it, found the note paper hovering for a second before her nose before it dropped onto her desk. She snatched it and began to consume the words he wrote with hungry eyes. But their excited glow seemed to dim as her eye brows furrowed together, his words, were not what she had expected.

"_Hmm only reminds me of your sad taste in men… he a new boyfriend? His weapon choice is a bit too feminine don't you think? Swords are WAY more manly I'd like to think, at least they get close to their targets. Arrows are for cowards, too afraid to get close to the enemy. Or too weak…"_

She gave a loud "Humph" before writing a hasty, reply, losing sight of her original purpose.

"_Yeah I've always had a thing for archers, with their grace as they pull back the arrow, and the accuracy of the weapon in general… there are just too many times when swords miss their targets, and sword fights are sooo long. With an arrow, ya shoot once and it's all over. Way more lethal in MY opinion, than a measly sword. And too feminine? More like too HOT! All archers are hot, Legolass from __Lord of the Rings__ for example…"_

She then proceeded to slap the note back onto his desk.

A few angry pencil squeaks later and he returned the favor, but with a more forceful slap than her own. It was so loud, the whole class turned to stare at Kagome's desk. Including Mrs. Taisho. Who just happened to notice the paper on Kagome's desk and the way Inuyasha and Kagome had suddenly found something very distracting outside their windows.

"Ahemm" she cleared her throat as she neared there desks, "what is this?" She picked up the note, and studied it with a raised eyebrow as she walked briskly back to her desk. When she reached her desk she turned back towards Kagome, and she could tell Mrs. taisho had been laughing softly as she read the note by the smile lines etched softly around her eyes. "This won't happen again I'm sure?" she asked Kagome and Inuyasha, laughter unhidden in her voice. They nodded earnestly in unison, amazed at how easily they had escaped a detention.

Satisfied she slipped the note into her desk drawer, a small glint of humor lighting her eyes "Wow Kagome, this drawing is fridge door approved! I'll be keeping this then, the staff could always use a good laugh." She smiled and then continued on with thelecture, as if there had never been an interruption.

She knew it was too good to be true…Kagome sunk herself in her seat, as her face stained beet red. She was so embarrassed, Inuyasha's MOTHER had read the note… she probably thought Kagome was _crazy!_ And the whole STAFF? Really, was it absolutely necessary to pin it to the staff fridge_? This was so much worse than detention, and I am still no where closer to telling Inuyasha the truth. _

Plan failed…

**O.O**

"Alright, can anyone guess which weapon we will be learning today?" Kikyo asked as she swept along the row of assembled students.

All the students looked past the teacher with bored looks at the obvious layered out target posts.

Miroku raised his hand, "Umm, darts?" he joked.

Then a skinny, dark haired kid gaining courage raised his hand, but with more energy, "Oh! I know, we're learning to throw knives!"… He was serious.

Kikyo the gym and weapon teacher scoffed, "alright does anyone have any more brilliant ideas to add?" she chilled them all with a cold glare as she strode down the line, "or shall we get started?" She asked no one in particular as she ripped off a white sheet covering a rack, to reveal about twelve polished bows; each with their own set of arrows.

"Ooh" the class cooed. Before wiping the fresh drool off their mouths, to hop on their toes, trying to look as alert as possible, hoping this would earn them the right to be one of the first to try the weapon out.

Kagome was ecstatic, this was perfect! She was in weapon class, and so was Inuyasha, she could just about hear him rolling his eyes at the end of the line, at the mere mention of the bow. Here was a perfect opportunity to broach the topic she had intended to through the note passing fiasco, and seeing as archery was her forte… she could have a lot of fun with this… time to shine!

"There are twenty-four of you, so you'll have to pair up." Kikyo pointed out to the bouncing idiots.

The bouncing immediately stopped as everyone started scrambling around for a partner. Names were shouted, hair was pulled, _some_ even got ran over, it was like petting zoo gone to crocodile feeding time. Kikyo had unleashed utter chaos, and then left for a snack in the staff room to let the students sort things out on their own. Figures… Kikyo never likes to get her perfect little hands dirty

Kagome almost got trampled twice as she pushed her way over to Inuyasha, but somehow managed to battle her way through the mob in one piece, not the same could be said for everyone in the mosh pit like scene though…

"Inuyasha!" she panted once she got over to him. He was sitting all cool, and unruffled against the frigid stone wall. She glared at his laid back façade, while she was as red as a stop sign and covered in sweat. With an effort she managed to bite back a snarky remark as she smiled, daintily holding out her hand, "let's be partners, neh?"

Inuyasha just stared blankly at her hand. What was her game? He stood up and stretched exaggeratedly, completely ignoring it. Kagome's big smile deflated into a scowl as she pulled her hand slowly back, looking around to make sure no one saw him deny it. The jerk; he could teach a class on how _not_ to treat a girl any day.

Inuyasha finished stretching with a smirk, "sure" he said, and then weaved smoothly through the crowd, with the fluidity, of a river carving its way through a bolder riddled gorge to the bow rack.

Kagome was about to try and follow, when she noticed just how much more crowded and umm; "_oh my god, is that girl's arm broken?…that cannot be natural!_"

She was definitely better off where she was so Kagome wisely decided to stay put and let Inuyasha bring the supplies back to her.

"No, Kagome the arrow should point that way, ya know towards the BIG RED CIRCLE!" Inuyasha griped, thoroughly annoyed with her appalling aim.

Kagome blinked innocently, trying not to laugh as Inuyasha began to attempt to move the tip of her arrow to the side, but she wouldn't let it budge. "You mean the target?"

He looked up at her from the tip of her arrow, where he had begun to poke it. "Yeah so, why does it matter what it's called?" He rolled his eyes and sighed, "And you're holding the arrow up too high… here let me show you."

"Nuhh uhh" Kagome teased as she jumped to the side to avoid his dive for the bow and arrow, she should have bonked him on the nose and shown him how it's done, the first time he had corrected her: but… the option of feigning novice was way more _fun_.

She couldn't resist; Kagome held her body in the worst possible position she could. Her shoulders sagging as she pulled the arrow completely off target, her body so grossly out of balance, leaving no allowance for power in the draw - not that she could attempt to draw the bow without running the risk of falling over due to overbalancing. It was with a supreme effort that she held back her mirth… honestly she didn't know how much more she could withstand before she fell over laughing; she was just having too much fun to stop. Not even when she was originally learning had she been this bad.

She somehow managed to keep a serious face as she pointed the arrow towards the ground . "How's this?" She asked knowing full well and getting the desired effect.

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he smacked his palm to his forehead and moaned as if in agony due to the horridness of her shooting posture, "Did you not listen to a word Kikyo said?"

She frowned at the implication of her being a bad student, "Of course I was paying attention!" she cried as she *accidentally* dropped the arrow, "Oopsy!" she gasped "Let me ge-" she began as Inuyasha lept at the chance to head her off.

"NO! I'll get it!" Inuyasha yelled as he whisked the arrow up and slipped the bow off of her shoulder. He began to aim, "this is how you – oops" Inuyasha had accidentally let the arrow go early… It landed pitifully on its side, about a yard away from their feet.

"AHAHGAHA!" Kagome burst into full hearted laughter; it was just too much to take!

"Inuyasha growled, "Well I'd like to see you do any better!"

Kagome's laughter died down into light giggles and deep gasps as she wiped away tears of mirth. "Okay" she sniffed as she grabbed the bow and slung the bucket of arrows professionally over her back. She gave Inuyasha a lopsided grin before she shot an arrow and it slamed dead center of the target, she didn't even give Inuyasha time to gasp as she pulled out arrow after arrow and shot them with the sleekness of running water into the target.

When she was done she leaned back to appreciate her art work, where a target sign had stood, now stood a target shaped into a flower by the precision of Kagome's arrows. Only when she turned to look at Inuyasha's gaping face did she notice it was really quiet. Quiet either because everyone was either staring at her, or her gored target sign. "Umm" She shrugged running a hand through her hair's dark length, "beginner's luck?" she said timidly, drowning out the sound of crickets chirping in the awkward silence.

She then felt the light weight of a woman's hand on her shoulder, "Kagome?"

Kagome tore her eyes away from all of the ones watching her to lay them on Kikyo, "yes Kikyo?" she whimpered.

"Hmhmm" Kikyo cleared her throat, as she took her hand off Kagome's shoulder, "you were supposed to only hit the target, not make a floozy floral print! This is damage of school property. You shall come see me after school and make up for it, yes?" With that she confidently, if not smugly, turned on her heal and sauntered away with a pronounced swagger in her step, "class dismissed." Not even a second later the bell sounded, reverberating throughout the class room. The sound was ear splittingly after the pin drop silence that had permeated the room not a second before. To Kagome the sound was welcome as with it most of the students began to filter out of the room returning to their normal habits as they left for their next class. Most. Others stood gawking at her not bothering to hide their wide eyed staring. The kind of look that let you know they were talking about you.

Kagome let out a deep sigh, she hadn't even realized she had been holding her breath. She looked at Inuyasha who was still staring at her, she made eye contact and waited for him to say something. Something like 'hey, you're that Miko huh?' or 'OH MY GOD YOU HID THAT FROM ME?'

However, when Inuyasha came back to Earth from wherever his mind had been wandering and elbowed her lightly in the ribs, he gave her a betrayed look. "How come you never told me you could yield a weapon? Not just yield a weapon, but had freaking mastered one!" he began to cross his arms guardedly as he said, "I thought we were friends…"

Kagome was surprised at this, "It never came up in conversation… and of course I'm your friend! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Friends tell their friends about their awesome weapons, it's a fact of life." He nodded in agreement with his words, as if they were the ultimate truth. "You know, you remind me of someone" he tapped his claw against his lower lip as he thought, "just can't put my finger on it…"

"So I see" Kagome sighed, plan failed again **,** "well I got to get to class" she patted him on the arm affectionately and then ran off, while glancing back to say, "see ya!"

"Excuse me! Hello?" Kagome nosed her head timidly around the property, "Anyone home?"

A door to her right suddenly slammed open, Kagome flinched as Kaede walked out. "Miko! You are fortunate it was I who first noticed you, or the guards would have come first!" she chuckled, "what may I do for you?"

Kagome smiled, ducking her face under a chunk of glossy hair that had slipped out from beneath her head wrap, as she twiddled nervously with the frail hem of her veil. "Well I was wondering if Lord Inu was around…"

Kaede smiled back at the likeable child, "ah of course, he is off fighting some demon or other, he should be back around night fall, would you like me to give him a message?"

"Oh well… umm, actually yes!" Kagome walked timidly closer to the old woman, "could you tell him when he gets back to meet me at the waterfall?" she had begun to skip away when she remembered Inuyasha's stubborn and reluctant attitude, and turned around with a knowing smile. "Tell him he should have no trouble finding it, if he just listens." She gave her another smile, this one meeker than the last, as she continued to walk away, "If it's no trouble of course!"

"Oh no priestess, no trouble at all." Kaede waved as Kagome began to waltz away, now feeling a little lighter than before.

"Thanks!" Kagome replied over her shoulder as she continued back toward the South. Kagome silently praised herself as she made her way through the forest; speaking to him in this time, was her best idea yet, they would not be interrupted in her private oasis! She'd finally be able to tell him what she'd been trying to all day.

Kagome smiled nervously as she watched the fading deep orange sunlight dapple through the thin sheet of vines above her, to play with the shadows along the tepid water hovering over her feet. She lost herself for a moment in the warm intricate dance of shadows and light, but the chilling nervousness and aching anticipation seeped through and brought back the purpose of her presence here. Inuyasha would be coming soon -Something she was becoming acutely, increasingly aware of with each speeding beat of her racing heart thrumming a frantic tempo against her chest, yielding equal amounts of angst and excitement in what she was about to do.

The pressure of the desire to tell him, and weight of her secret had been pushing on her chest for too long, and finally tonight with the arrival of Inuyasha, would she gain release from the aching pressure. She would _breathe _again, free as the gentle breeze stirring ripples on the water at her feet. Her past deceit that was so unlike her; she would return to her roots, her core. _Herself_… Honest, open, light and hopefully gain a budding new friendship! She hoped… she knew.

A shiver of excitement coursed through her at the prospect as Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath to still her shaking limbs. Trilling with eager anticipation, Kagome then dipped down and ran her fingers affectionately through the silky water, "ready?" she asked it with a zealous if somewhat nervous smile. She was about to tell him her greatest secret after all; nerves were to be expected. The water warmed as it flickered crimson and gold at her touch, she could feel the encouragement the water offered, and knew she was not alone.

She drew strength from that knowledge; she was not alone. She was never alone in this wondrous place; the thought brought a smile to her lips. That small comfort was the drop of water in her pool of trepidation that caused waves of ease to ripple through her, changing her surface emotions to a flowing courageous, compounding, confidence that washed away her anxiety, doubt and any sense of dread she felt.

She looked down from her lofty perch at the pinnacle of the waterfall, drinking in the breath taking beauty of the place; lavender and azure flowers budding along the lushforest green vines and aquamarine moss woven in intricate patterns amongst the mosaic, stone rim of the waterfall forming an enchanting contrast of color and design one could loose themselves in trying to decipher for hours. New patterns and motifs never failing to present themselves - to someone who would _look_ until they could truly _see__._

From the serenade of flowers lining tresses of plant life in varying shades of green, elegantly woven between, under, over and around the picturesque stone adorning the falls; a wonderfully pure, pungent and piquant floral scent suffused the grotto. This intoxicating scent was made all the sweeter by the light, mouth watering honey dew mist wafting off the water combining to make a nectar Kagome could hardly hold in the urge to constantly sniff at, something she could only see Inuyasha doing… (Hehe he would so do that). It was far more like an intoxicating elixir than anything else.

The waters, as rich in color as it was in scent, and painted with dancing, ever-changing images on it's playfully shimmering surface; to say the least, the grotto's beauty overcame her senses**.** She gazed in wonderment with wide, curious eyes contemplating just how much more intoxicating it must be for Inuyasha with his hanyou senses; marveling at the thought that it _could_ be more intoxicating.

She looked towards the basin Inuyasha had dove, swam and basked in during his prior visit; through the smoky haze of the surrounding mist, the limpid depths offered to hereyesrecollections of Inuyasha humming softly while floating nonchalantly around the pool's unrefined edge**.** Herself, smiling at the sight while swishing her feet in the water nonchalantly; she could almost hear the echo of their voices and his humming.

She wanted more times like that with him, she hoped that things would not change between them… she hoped that… A shudder coursed through Kagome as her vision began to cloud; letting her worries wash over, her excitement of moments before draining from her like sap from a maple tree in the fall. What if he got angry? He tended to get angry or irritated at the littlest things, she could just imagine how much more glorified his anger would become, at her rather large confession. But anger, anger she could handle, because she possessed a fury as unruly, unbridled, fiery and fearsome as his own. One that once ignited made her a more than well equipped match for him.

However, Kagome shivered at the next thought that entered unbidden into her mind, what she wouldn't be able to handle was if he was disappointed, or hurt deeply, and grew distant towards her. She could just imagine his warm sun golden eyes glazing a cold, rainy gray as he narrowed them emptily at her, only to turn around the next second and leave without another glance through the thicket. Leaving her in tears. Kagome shut her eyes tightly, trying to blot out the image; but to no avail; it was as though the stoic, soulless, eyes she had envisioned were fixed to the back of her eyelids. Haunting her vision…

Kagome shook herself sternly out of her chilling daze, rubbing her arms, for comfort, as if the steam around her had somehow grown frigid and still. _No._ She was overreacting, a reaction like that was far too mature, and well… cool for Inuyasha. _Still,_ she couldn't help but worry, she was only a teen with an over reactive imagination after all! Kagome defended herself_._ She gave a little laugh at that thought, before spinning lightly on her heel to rearrange a few dangling vines. Positive thoughts, she told herself; everything will be fine, better even after today. Right, she shook herself mentally everything would be _fin__**e**_…

Inuyasha winced as he took a deep breath, alright, he could do this… _"__Ok, breath"_, he told himself_;_ "_on the count of three"_, his brows bent in his sour angst _"one"_ he began to brace himself as he counted, _"two"_ he began to squeeze his eyes shut in his dread, not feeling ready for the last number_, __in the least_ _"three!"_ he grunted**. **His eyes clamped completely shut and as a grimace placed itself firmly in place upon his face. His ears stuck out to the sides and back in his displeasure. He tore the cloth with a slow, long, painful *rip***.**

"Eeargh" Inuyasha shuddered as he twitched his ears away from the horrendous sound, he could _not _stand the sound of tearing cloth, he didn't know why it gave him the shivers… but it did, and always had. He heaved a sigh of relief and irritation at having finally completed the ear shuddering task; but it was finished, he had made it through it; so he set to wrapping the cloth around his wounded arm. He knew it would heal by morning, he just didn't want the miko to see him… wounded. Or at least he didn't want to bleed all over her grotto - waterfall - place- thingy!… whatever she called it…

He sighed as he glanced at the half moon and small cluster of stars peaking out over the setting sun. When he had come back from defending the Oshai village from a sea beast, he didn't even have a chance to rest when Kaede stumbled in and told him he better leave soon, because the _miko_ had stopped by and invited him to the "waterfall" hours ago, and it would be rude not to show up. That dried up old _hag_. Lecturing him on manners… like he didn't get enough lectures. And it's NOT like he was supposed to be at the miko's beck and call like a love sick puppy! The North and South may not be at war, but they weren't exactly allies either… they just sorta ignored each other. He was under no social obligation that required, that _obligated_him to be _polite_! Inuyasha huffed to himself as he continued to wind the cloth around his arm.

He didn't give a damn about being polite, or whether or not that little miko would feel snubbed, although he did find her interesting. But he decided to go because he found the waterfall intriguing, and ONLY that.

So he had set off, grumbling, stomping, and throwing branches to the side, when he noticed his arm bleeding. So he cursed and punched a tree when he realized what he had to do.

_- Tare_

_- Cloth_… *shudder.*

But he had done it, and now the only thing left on the agenda was to find the waterfall, the only problem was he had no idea where it was! All in all he was in a pretty darn foul mood.

He tried pressing his ears forward again, it didn't work, so he started circling them around like radar… nothing. He cursed again, simultaneously banging his head back against a tree - why couldn't he hear it?

He really had no where else to go, and nothing else to do, so he just sat against the tree, watching the darkness of night slowly begin its attack on the day. Soon he began to relax a wave of drowsiness threatened to over take him; he was tired and, the smell of pine and fresh grass was just so alluring to his nose lulling him further. The sound of birds singing, and fresh water pouring, was so soothing, almost like a lulla- wait a minute… water… _pouring?_ Inuyasha jumped away from the tree as if it burned at his touch; his ears, nose and body now tense and alert. He hopped up into another tree and began his assail on the sound, he had found it!

Excited the little bugger had not escaped him, he smiled and almost let out a _whoopee!_ as he landed softly on his feet and strode up to the vine encasement. "Thought you could evade me didn't you, you sly… waterfall?" he joked with a haughty drawl and atrade mark smirk, although with a more serious air also as he raised an frosty eyebrow and began to pull back a section of vine.

Embarrassedly he added "It's okay, you're not alone… no one can escape these babies!" he pointed meaningfully with a wild grin to the two triangles on the top of his white tangle of alabaster silk. Before abashedly lowering his hand, at the realization that he was talking to an inanimate object… and might actually be going crazy. Oddly enough he was powerfully reminded of the miko, well perhaps not oddly he amended; after all the first time he had watched her and she had talked to the items he had produced for her. _"__Maybe__her insanity is contagious"_; he thought as he shook his head emitting a low, chuckle.

Now THAT chick definitely had a few screws loose!

"You know what? Never mind…" he mumbled hastily, a bit flustered as he pushed back another section of weedy wall, he was almost there he figured, by the closeness of the sound of rushing water, and how he could hear the delicate trill of all of the smaller waterfalls.

The heavy floral and dew scent that entangled with his senses as he pulled back another section of the vines, raising his eye brows from surprise; he hadn't expected to get there so soon.

He had at first meant to pull back the section fast and forcefully, but the scent that lay behind the last of the thick, twine, guarding curtain, he felt the need to savor the moment as he sniffed at the air ( hehe told ya he would do that). He remembered the last time he was here, basking in the hot, sweet depths of the water, with the miko by his side, carelessly dangling her legs over the water, adding a few soft kicks into its rippling depths.

But as he pulled into his mind, caressing the moment, his balance was almost disturbed at the shocking impact of memories that began to flash before his eyes. A smile, the smile of Kagome, large and sweet. He inwardly berated himself, why was he thinking of her at a time like this? _"__Stupid, don't think about her when you're meeting another woman"_ he scolded before realization at his inward thoughts hit him… "_wait… meeting another woman?"_ Inuyasha was exceedingly confused at that thought, did he feel like he was cheating on Kagome when he was with the miko… CHEATING? How could he feel like he was cheating when he wasn't even with Kagome - him being with Kagome was such a ridiculous notion, he almost laughed. They were just friends, he didn't even know if he could label them that, when all they seemed to do was fight and constantly try to one up each other.

She was so irritating sometimes, like what was up with that little drawing and those notes during English anyway?

Yet the memory of her doodle only seemed to make him smirk, secretly he thought her little drawing was cute… however poor the quality of it was. But even then, all she would do was try to put him down in some way, like her derogatory comment about swords. So what if he had started the argument first by putting down the bow, it didn't excuse the fact that she had an unrelenting temper most of the time, while the rest of the time she…

Inuyasha's hand froze its timid drawing as more pictures encased his disheveled mind, her eyes dewy and sparkling under tepid moonlight, her hair swishing in dark glossy masses from side to side as he watched her skip perkily to school. Her scowl, a half smile, her quick tongue and sweet words. Her comforting grin and soft touch. Her voice, her - Inuyasha's eyes widened drastically in shock - seriously,

WHAT -

THE -

HELL.

Was wrong with him? *bops side of head*(shakes frustrated fist, you like her you thick headed dolt!)

Okay so maybe he actually liked Kagome… but just a little, it's not like he was falling head over heals. He just liked her, as a person, a friend, and that was all. _DENIAL__! _Coughed a voice in his head_. "__I am not in denial"__, _Inuyasha reasoned with himself_; "__we can't be near each other for more than a minute without World War Three breaking out - or another Cold War if we're in class. As if I like her in that way! She may be kinda cute but we can barely stand each other!"_

Feeling convinced, and frankly a little less flushed, he schooled his features into an impassive line, then proceededtoshouldered his way past the vines, and into paradise. All Inuyasha could do was stare blankly for a moment, grasping at all the mouth watering details with his hungry eyes, before he realized something was missing; the miko.

He scanned the low frothy pockets of water, finding nothing he allowed his eyes to wander over the trailing moss and vines running the length of the grotto and traversing up the sides of the various waterfalls. The miko was no where to be seen where was she?

Then he heard _it;_ the slight movement of shallow water, and he felt her presence behind a mop of vines concealing the surface of the highest pool from view, "_so that's where she was";_ right by the crest of the waterfall, the pinnacle of the glade.

Why didn't she say anything, did she not know he was there? He was about to yodel out a greeting when he was stilled by a long somber note that rang out from the base of the pristine water fall, which had now slowed its flow to a melancholy waltz, as its waters shaded rose, faded into the other pools, each one's water flow diffusing into separate measured speeds.

The varying speeds of the waterfalls echoed a different note in their clear, richly colored depths, but all together they were unified into song, an aquatic symphony. With vines, coated in water collected from the sweltering mist, would drop off into the resonating depths, each drop strumming a light, airy note. his curiousity was sparked, waterfalls weren't supposed to...sing.

A new tone then joined the orchestra of water; rising to the forefront of the spellbinding composition, was the sweet, gentle thrill of the miko's voice, fresh as a clear sky and morning dew on prairie grass. Energizing the song with a new life. A pure willed beckoning that drew his feet into staggering obediently towards the water's lapping edge to gaze dazedly up in confusion and awe at the miko gliding out from behind the vines to smile nervously, but confidently down at him from the high waterfall's edge.

And then with the intro of the abyssal symphony building to a climax, her song began**;**

_Water singing bright_

_Let your song be heard-_

_Glistening, thrilling, flowing_

_Let your liquid gold, grow and show_

_The power you hold…_

Lulled into a trance, Inuyasha didn't try to run or even escape at the sudden movement of the waterfalls as they shimmered and took on a life of their own; their flow leaving the ground, and wrapping in a silken, sultry, incandescent dance around him. The frugal light from the retreating sun and proceeding stars reflecting off of the misplaced ethereal streams, illuminating the grotto with a warm and iridescent caress.

But the miko seemed unfazed by this as her words continued, their silvery ring, like that of harmonizing bells, glided with unwavering speed through the gleaming liquid.

_But do not overtake,_

_With the power you entail_

_He's a friend, you shall help prevail!_

She gestured toward Inuyasha at the last line, as if soothing the water, grown too wild with its power.

_Instead help him understand_

_The connection between our hands_

_The connection between you -_

_And me…_

The lilting echo of the ending line causing a shiver to prowl down his spine; the water now glowing fiercely tangled itself with Inuyasha's loose limbs as if zeroing in on long eluded prey. Inuyasha subconsciously arched and tensed back at the alien touch, his conscious mind fully alert and yet stunned beyond the capacity to think, he was frozen as though trapped in a dead lock - with in his own mind! Unable to give or concoct an action command; his body was semi conscious and able to do little more than tense and flex. So Inuyasha stood back arched, muscles tense. Until he began to really feel the water, warm yet hot, it soothed. His muscles began to loosen at its touch, laced with…was it affection? Tenderness? Care free elation? A pure desire to nurture and love? Maybe it was all of them at once, he couldn't tell or seem to make himself care as the alien touch grew angelic and familiar, lulling him into semi consciousness, and yet it seemed to energize him also; a renewing of strength. Then just as quickly as it had as it had entangled him, it remembered its place, and dulled as it faded slowly back to where it belonged. Slowly reigning in Inuyasha's consciousness, and fury at the realization of just how weak he had been a moment ago, of what had just happened to him.

The music dimmed, to a hushed whisper and then nothing, as the sky darkened with the fall of night time, the once iridescent glow that filled the secret, celestial spot, dissolving to the normal twinkle of starlight.

The grotto now silent and seemingly normal with the sound of earthly rushing water renewed. Kagome waited patiently in the silence, and was rewarded with the sound of a sharp intake of breath from below her as Inuyasha's eyes flew open and he growled, his claws contracting as he slashed at where the waters tendrils had been.

It was a moment before he stopped his instinctual response, realizing that he was snapping at stagnant air, his eyes then locked onto hers**. **

"What did you do to me?" he demanded**.**

She flinched at the sound, it wasn't the reaction she had wanted, but she chided herself in the fact that he might be scared because he didn't fully comprehend what had just happened. She would just wait for him to settle down.

Inuyasha was only more infuriated by her silence, not that he was angry before, he was just trying to mask his incompetence and unease. He hadn't understood what had happened as the music had seemed to lull him into a trance. He had felt only a _slight_ twinge of fear as the warm water had warped around him. He would never admit it, but inwardly he had welcomed it, it had made him feel… good. No not good, incredible, unearthly, exhilarated! But as the end of its otherworldly pull neared he realized it was something foreign and he should have fought it rather than let it touch a hair on his head. This knowledge is what prompted the realization that somehow he had lost control of his body and could not have stopped it even if he wanted to. Loss of control period, was not something he tolerated, it was something he feared.

He had never lost control of his body before, and this is what filled his heart with anger and adrenaline, but most of all fear as he snapped out of the trance, lashing at where the water had been, only seconds before.

He wanted an explanation.

He deserved one**.**

No he needed one, why had all of that happened, what did she do to him?

But she wasn't answering, she was just standing there with her eyes down cast.

What the hell…

"Answer me!" he shouted vehemently, his fists clenching "what did you take? What do you want?" he stepped menacingly toward the water's edge, another growl shuddering for release from the back of his throat**.**

He was scared, what if she had damaged him, or… or taken away a part of his demon power**?** This thought only served to amplify his distress, further fueling his growing fear fed wrath.

"I want you to answer me!" he growled again, giving into instinct; his foot now traipsing the water's edge, but as he was about to step into it and spring up at her, the water near his feet bled red and sparked at his foot's touch, he jumped back. "WHAT THE HELL!". He yelled, using his favorite choice of profanity for about the third time that day.

Inuyasha had met his mental overload limit, she had hypnotized him with her voice, probably stolen a part of his demon power with that water thing, and now the water had attacked him, shocking his foot, and it had hurt like a mother f*$#r. This was not a good day. He grabbed his foot, as he let out a stream of curses below out at his frustration, despair and hurt. Almost drowning out the miko's voice with the bravado of obscenities… almost, but not quite**.**

"Inuyasha!"

She called the third time, but he hadn't really heard her.

So she tried again**,** this time more forcefully, "Inuyasha! Would you just shut up for a moment?"

The silence after her last line was unknown to her as Inuyasha froze and she continued on.

"My word! Were you raised by sailors? I have never heard someone with as foul a mouth. Your language is indecent! Abhorrent! Despicable! Anarchic! Disgraceful! Malodorous!" She ranted, circling and gesturing wildly along the waterfall's edge, completely consumed by her temper.

Well she had _quite_ a vocabulary didn't she… Inuyasha thought a little blankly and with ill hidden irritation. She was like an itch you couldn't scratch.

"Loathsome! Nefarious! And oh**,** did I say FOUL?" she grated, anger pulsing through her every nerve. Hot and wiry it egged her on to the point were she was still ignorant of the fact that Inuyasha had indeed stopped and was paying complete attention to her.

"And you just don't know when to shut up! If you would just listen to me for once!" she threw her hands up with a heavy, mellow dramatic sigh, "you just make me soooo mad sometimes!" Her body flared with a fiery aura, her eyes narrowing onto his egotistic form with the finishing of her rant. wait, how long had she been talking, and how long had Inuyasha been standing there, quite...with that ' I-am-not-amused' face? She gasped, her eyes drawn wide as she immediately slapped a hand over her loud mouth at the realization that he had actually been listening to _everything_ she had said. Where was a nice sized hole she could crawl in and die in? One was never around when she needed one.

Kagome hadn't meant to say all of that, erm, stuff. Most of what she had said was out of pure, unchecked anger formed into words of poison darts. She had thought he was still busy ranting himself and most definitely not listening to her…wasn't it most men's jobs to tune a woman out when he didn't like what she was saying anyway? To say the least she was mortified. "Uuumm" she shuttered, gawking at his wide eyed, arms crossed, unabashed staring. He probably thought she was a freak. "I'm so sorry!" she shouted, now fearing his wrath, well not necessarily his wrath, but his hate and possible revulsion. Her shoulders drooped as shame crept across them, she was also a little tired out. Yelling really took a lot more energy than she would have ever have thought possible.

She could see that he was about to open his mouth and, judging by the throbbing vane in his forehead, she knew his next words would be scalding hot. Interruption seemed her only safe option, or a distraction of some sort...or that hole she dreamed of dying in. Kagome prayed he'd listen to her for _once_ so she'd have the chance to get things back on the right track. Why did plans always seem to go awry when Inuyasha was involved? Her hands left her drooping sides as she frantically held them up in the sign of *stop* suddenly grasping onto an idea. "Wait!" she shouted, "before you say anything! Lift up your right arm!"

Inuyasha was about to protest; he _really_ wanted to lay his anger on her, nice and thick like scalding honey. And he thought, _why the hell should i do what she says?_ But then he caught her eager urging glance and felt a soft ping inside. Much to his own surprise, he did as she said. "And… what about it?" he growled staring at his now raised arm, unimpressed.

She smirked smugly. "There was a huge gash there only a few minutes ago if I recall correctly."

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to have his eyes grow alarmingly wide as he brushed his hand over the flawless skin of his once wounded arm, he knew he couldn't possibly have healed that fast. And great, he tore cloth earlier for absolutely no reason.

"How did you…" he whispered looking expectantly at her.

"It was the water…" she answered back just as silently, suddenly grown shy as she turned her head away, keeping her back to him**,** "it's the grotto's power, it heals… when I sing." She took a deep calming breath; "because my miko powers are connected directly with nature, I can control the water with my voice, increasing its healing power."

"I don't understand…" he mumbled, still running his fingers distractedly over his tingling flesh.

She sighed glancing back at him and smiled. "Remember when I first brought you here and I had been injured… you started humming. And the water healed me." she turned to face him apprehensively, tinkering with the hem of her skirt and looking down, not able to meet his eyes yet.

Inuyasha thought back, and distinctly remembered her having a hop in her step after they had left the grotto, now that he thought about it, humans didn't heal that fast - so she should not have had that hop in her step, it should have been impossible…

"But why?" he asked, his attention now focused on her and her next words.

Her eyes connected hesitantly with his as she stilled her anxious hands. "This grotto is special" she gestured. "It is a direct link, a sort of portal to the essence of nature itself. It likes the human voice when we sing, or at least it likes some human voices." She laughed, light heartedly at the last comment.

"It can read a person's nature through it see the essence of their soul, know if they're good or bad. Because that is what are voices are, a link to our souls. It liked my voice." She smiled at the thought that the grotto liked her voice, but this made her feel a bit conceited, she then added with a slight blush "and it liked yours too. It has accepted me and you as well, that is why we can hear the waterfall while others cannot."

Inuyasha's brow crinkled, what did she mean it had accepted him and what did that have to do with his and hers ability to hear the waterfall?

She smiled knowingly at him, she had expected his confusion, and sought to remedy it immediately. "Remember how you couldn't hear the waterfall when we first approached it**?**"

She paused, waiting for him to nod for her to go on, he did. "I bet that you couldn't hear it before..."

He scowled, that minor incident had been quite a blow to his pride. Kagome continued on like she hadn't noticed. "But you hummed when you were in the pool… and after we left, I bet you could here the waterfall too" she smirked knowingly at him.

Inuyasha was shocked, so that was the key to the waterfall; humming? It was just too simple. But she was right, he could here the waterfall after that incident, but it was just so _far_ fetched!

She smiled again at him, "I know, it seems impossible, but this is no fairy tail". Her eyes began to sparkle as the edge of her eyes crinkled with the widening of her smile "It's true, attainable, and _real_!" she insisted enthusiastically, glad she no longer had to keep this wonderment to herself.

And Inuyasha believed her, there was something in her eyes and her pure, passionate tone, that led him to believe that she was telling the truth and he could trust her. A rare thing that only a few people in his life… Inuyasha's stream of thought trailed off as he remembered something.

She had called him Inuyasha…

Not Lord Inu, just Inu, or Hanyou - the possiblitiies of all the things she could have called him instead of his actual name were endless. And yet she had used the one name he had left behind in the future. She had called him _Inuyasha_. A low note struck in his ears as his heart began to race… how did she know his name? He knew he had never told her it. Something was definitely off here. Inuyasha's prior unease and tension returned tenfold; she had so very nearly fooled him into trusting her!

"Y-y-you" he stuttered, stepping defensively back into a half crouch and his voice deepened with a growl, "called me Inuyasha"

"… What?" the miko asked in a far away voice as if suddenly pulled out of a daydream.

Inuyasha stopped his jittering and planted his feet in a dominant, sure stance on the ground. "You called me Inuyasha." He glared, "I heard you." He was now sure of that. He could always depend on his ears.

Kagome blanched, she actually hadn't realized she had let that slip, "I what?… I'm sure you must be mist- "

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Inuyasha's irritation and confusion surfaced in hot ripples. He knew something had been off, he just knew he couldn't trust her!

Kagome sighed, resigned. She hadn't meant to slip up earlier, she had had a much smoother plan, but better now than never.

"I know your name" she began, while nimbly making her way down a path hidden in elusive shadow from the top waterfall, stopping a few feet in front of him to bring her face into the starlight, illuminating her illustrious eyes.

She took a deep breath, avoiding his own eyes "because" she pulled off her veil and let her wrap fall in a silken tangle to the ground, her hair teeming from its prison into onyx waves as the slight warm night breeze blew them gently forward. "Because" she began again, her eyes taking on a scintillating glimmer he knew only _too_ well. Their gaze tender, open, and familiar, begging him for acceptance as the connected with his.

"I am Kagome."

_A/N_: _whoooo! Finally! I'll bet you all thought he'd NEVER find out…now I'm a head out…before you all start throwing rocks at me and push me off of the cliff of my own cliff hanger hehe. _


	7. Chapter 7 Healing Salve

_A/N: So sorry for the wait! Major writers block…which explains the shortness of this chapter…eheh_

_Since it has been so long, I suggest you check out the previous chapter for a refresh in memory, before reading this one…_

**O-O**

Why hadn't he realized before, _stupid ,stupid, blind, baka hanyou_. Looking in her eyes, seeing her there open and freely unarmed. Glowing with a depth unmatched in any other eyes he had ever seen, just like Kagome's. Her laugh, her scolding, her temper… and...

_Why the hell didn't you realized it before numb skull _ Inuyasha demanded himself while looking in her dark shining eyes, the same eyes he remembered gazing into with such fascination as he fell into their depths that night on the gazebo. He had been so captivated… how could he have not noticed how impossibly identical the Miko's eyes were to Kagome's? _Kagome_… he thought truly looking and for once seeing her for who she was; actually seeing for the first time as she stood before him honest, completely open to him, and freely unarmed. Vulnerable of her own volition. _But_**,**Inuyasha suddenly realized how it was all so unlikely _how__ could__ she__ be__ here? _He was sure she'd been nowhere near his portal to the past… yet there the Miko stood, er, actually she - Kagome stood. Her stunning auburn tinted chocolate orbs glowing with a depth unmatched in any other eyes he had ever seen.

His whole body warmed and relaxed at her glance, at her honesty. _She __had __tried __to__ tell__ me__…_ He felt so blind. To not have seen there similarities, it was just so_ obvious_ now that he knew. There were so many questions. How long had she known? From the beginning? Had she kept it from him all this time? _She__ could__ have__ just__ told__ me__ out__ right, __takes__ a __chick__ to sneak around and__ make __things__ difficult! B_ut still even though she had hidden this from him all that time, she had told him now. Didn't that make up for it? She had given him her secret, and _more_. _So__ much __more__… _She had shared something with him that no one else could even grasp at the hope of knowing. Her secret identity, the grotto, _and_ her power. Exposing herself, holding nothing back. No deceptions. No lies. No more secrets…How could he be angry, how could he be anything but freaking ecstatic!

All she seemed to want was his acceptance, something he could relate to.

She wasn't alone in this new yet feakishly old world, and now neither was he. He was no longer alone in living a double life, the thought was intoxicating as a release filled him. He understood her and she him. He could feel the joy and happiness welling up inside him their touch foreign but accepted by the lining of his heart… and then there was that feeling of freedom. Freedom from hiding his exciting trips to the past and large part of who he was. And there was no way he was letting this feeling go.

With a smile pressing, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into a sheltering embrace.

Kagome gasped at the sudden, unexpected contact, before she at first meekly and then boldly returned the heartfelt hug; her arms wrapping gently round his shoulder blades as she smiled, relaxing into the unexpected warmth. She reveled in the steady, strong rhythm strumming from within his cozy, yet tough and sinewy chest and could hardly believe the largely warm, safe feeling it gave her.

It wasn't long before tears of joy welled in her eyes. He knew, He knew and still did not resent her. He accepted her, anomalies, secrets, and all. It was more than she could have ever hoped for or deserved after all of the deceit she had thrown at him in the past days. In his embrace she could feel that shadowing guilt melt away at the edges. His easy acceptance was an unexpectedly tender side of him she had never thought possible to experience, but as they stood there together in that moment, she could see that it was purely Inuyasha. A side of him kept hidden like their past world excursions, a side shown only to her.

**O-O**

"So" Kagome gave the water at her feet a little swish as she averted her eyes to the stars. "You're not mad?" Any normal person would be mad and inuyasha was not normal, normal for inuyasha would be fury. In her mind he had every right to throw fire balls of fury at her at this very moment. But he wasn't mad and he wasn't furious, and that was weird and relieving.

Inuyasha laughed, perking up on the rock next to the for-once-timid-looking-Miko. "Nope I'm not mad" he replied with a smirk.

"Your not?" Kagome gave a sigh of relief.

"No I'm furious.." Inuyasha said nonchalantly, "can't believe I haven't rung your neck yet…" he cracked his knuckles with a sarcastic smirk.

Kagome gasped edging away, "wha…" her eyes widened. Did he just say he was going to kill her? Okay, that had to be sarcasm.

This only set Inuyasha into a tear streaking fit of laughter…she was just so ridiculous and cute…

Kagome immediately narrowed her wide eyes, scowling at his laughter at her expense, "very funny Inuyasha.." she pursed her lips, she could see there was some major payback in store for him in the future.

"Feh, It's just" Inuyasha wiped away a tear, he couldn't believe he was laughing so hard, pretty stressing day. " I don't understand girls at all, you ask me if I'm angry after I give you a taste of my death grip hug and well, NOT do anything remotely angry like." He stopped laughing and looked over at her bitter face, his own a tad more serious as he asked. "What made you think I could be angry after that?"

Kagome shrugged and smiled, "just a reflex I guess, to ask if someone's angry after you sort of attack them with water tentacles and tell them you've been hiding important stuff form them for like ever, whether the recipient appears angry or not..." Once she put it like that it seemed like one of the most silly, hilarious and awful things she had ever done. It made her giggle.

" I bet that's only a girl reflex."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and smirked at her red face, enjoying the way her innocent giggles tickled his ears. He knew he was right, the rightness of the statement was undeniable. It really was only a girl reflex.

Kagome pushed his shoulder playfully, "Shut up, you sexist pig" she laughed, yeah he was right… but she did not appreciate his obvious sexism.

"Hey hey, no need for name calling.." he put his arms up in mock defense. He didn't feel like bringing on another attack from the water/tentacle thing, as she had so delicately put it.

"Heh." She smirked, in a rather similar way to that of Inuyasha's signature smirk, which, when she realized this, caused her smirk to melt into a gooey smile. she laughed in relief, he really was okay with her, what she was, who she is… what she hid.

They both smiled at each other, relived for the loss of the tension built on earlier. But as there eyes connected, both began feeling as though something new were building between them, a form invisible to the eyes but palpable to the mind. Soft and light, strengthening as it laced between them. It was warm to the touch. A sign of something they were about to experience, something neither ever new life could offer and a connection that would never fade.

There smiles receded as heat rushed to their cheeks. Their widening eyes remained connected no matter how hard they wished to divert them in there equal, childish embarrassment. They couldn't shake of the life changing feeling humming with life between them, as enchanting as the grotto they nestled in.

Eventually the moment faded on its own accord, leaving its ever-present impression and the memory of its odd effect on the two.

Neither of them would ever talk about it, but both would remember it forever.

Inuyasha was first to break the now empty silence, "bout time we head back… huh."

Kagome blushed further, "yeah" she barely sighed, so much as agreed. And then they both walked out together, reluctantly parting ways beneath the misty stars and the flush glow of the moon. Only too meet up a few seconds later at the same spot beyond the ivy both gasping for breath.

"How in the world are you getting home?"

"How the hell are you getting back?" They both questioned each other in unison.

Kagome first to ask was also first to answer " um well there is this well down South at my house" she gestured behind her with her thumb—"that I come and go from, what about you?"

"Oh, well I go through a well up North…"he nodded to the land formations behind him.

"Huh interesting" Kagome commented

"Yeah" Inuyasha shrugged, not being one for many words

"Well see ya later I guess" Kagome started to turn away

"Yeah" again, Inuyasha was not one for many words.

And the two parted permanently under the amused gaze of the night sky.

**O-O**

The next few day's fell into a semblance of normalcy. Nothing had really changed since the night at the grotto except for the strengthening of the bond between Kagome and Inuyasha. They had become close friends, but still, both ignored what had happened, well maybe not so much as ignored as much as just never mentioned it—ever again.

And so their comedic day's ensued.

"Neh-neh" Kagome gave Inuyasha's drooping shoulder a second shove. It was only five minutes until class would start and already Inuyasha was snoozing away. She wondered if he would snooze away the next hour or perk up as soon as the bell rang…or maybe he was dead… "Hmmm death could definitely be ze possibility", Kagome mused aloud as she stroked her none existent goatee in a very Russian, doctorly manner.

She shifted her invisible glasses on her nose as she cleared her throat. " First I must check ze pulse!" she began to inch her hand past Inuyasha's head, slumped on the desk, and towards his neck, but was distracted by the twitching his fluffy, white, ears seemed to do as her hand skimmed the corner of them. " Ahah! I have found ze cure!" she shouted as she tugged on the triangles of fluffiness.

**O-O**

_I will never again purposefully tug on the sensitive parts of young men. I will never again purposefully…_

The statement she was being forced to repeat in legible script on the white board just... sounded so wrong…Kagome set down the board marker with a sigh and how was she supposed to know that tugging on Inuyasha's ears would do - that - thing.

Just thinking about it made her cheeks heat with embarrassment, which made her feel even worse, because the humiliation should be ten times as unbearable for Inuyasha.

There was just something distinctly wrong…or incredibly sexy about an Inu-Youkai purring with pleasure.

**O-O**

The humiliation was ten times worse for Inuyasha, as within hour school had ended, so had Inuyasha's social life.

Well at least the social life he had had amongst demons, although, surprisingly, he had gained a demented clan of giggling human fan girls who would pop out at him in the most random of moments and follow him around, begging him to let them touch his ears and stroke his fur—he didn't even have fur, just long silver/white HAIR. They seemed to think that he was the cutest rare Persian breed of cat demon, and were dying to make him _purr_—this had led to many awkward confrontations. Inuyasha hated awkward confrontations, or really, confrontations of any kind or at all. So this was _not_ the best day ever.

But worst, or really best of all, Inuyasha couldn't decide, it had lead to a fight with Koga. This was worst because he could get into serious trouble for being in a fight, due to his past record of delinquency. But it was best of all because, well he had been itching to fight Koga again since the night on the gazebo.

Koga had started the fight because, or so he told Inuyasha, he didn't like how close Inuyasha was getting to HIS 'woman' that she would feel comfortable enough to touch his '_special_' youkai parts. Inuyasha had always found it annoying that Koga called Kagome his woman...because she wasn't, and it was just plain delusional. And did the crazy wolf just insinuate that there was something going on between he and Kagome? What the hell, who would insinuate that shit? Although technically their was something going on, it sure as hell wasn't that mushy lovey dovey shit. And he sure as hell didn't didn't ask the stupid miko, er, Kagome to tug on his ears! All he had been doing was sleeping peacefully when the whole entire, tiring, shit hole of a situation was forced on him. He hadn't asked for any of this. He was, for once, completely innocent.

This conclusion however did not stop the teasing, the fighting, or the weird fan girls that ensued the accidental event. And he was going to kill Kagome for starting this, as soon as he could find her, and he finished fighting Koga— as she had been elusive all day. Damn, they needed to have a talk, and he HATED confrontation.

**O-O**

" Woah, i am so attractive, i dilate my own pupils just looking at myself. Which is, i guess, quite feasible once you take in my _dashing_ good looks."

Inuyasha turned away from examining the slightly fading bruise on his face, to raise an eyebrow at Miroku. Who was also examining his face, albeit in an overtly passionate way that was a bit creepy.

Miroku set his hand on his hip and quirked a chiseled brow " I must say I am a pretty attractive man"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, this guy...

" But maybe it's just too dark in here, as I am not quite my type if you catch my drift…" he made a gesture with his hands that mimicked that of an hour glass for emphasis on his true tastes, before shrinking from Inuyasha's continuing glare of annoyance.

" Ano, where is a light switch?" (For those who may not know, when it is dark your pupils dilate, but this phenomenon also happens when you are sexually attracted to someone, queue the 'appearance' of Miroku's infatuation with himself.)

Miroku hummed softly as he looked bemusedly around the bath room, which quickly converted into a cry of pain as Inuyasha shoved him into the light switch, clearly fed up. "Well geeze!" Miroku wheezed out, as he struggled to keep his footing. " Would it have inconvenienced you so terribly to have just pointed to the light switch?"

"Yes" Inuyasha smirked, rubbing some more salve onto the cuts on his face.

Miroku scowled, but didn't fight back because in truth he felt sorry for Inuyasha. Inuyasha's mother was going to kill him, or at least kill Inuyasha's ears with her shrill, angry screaming. And Inuyasha had some pretty delicate ears… being a dog youkai in all. Miroku genuinely felt sorry for him, despite having been pummeled by the Hanyou a slightly frightening fraction of a moment ago.

Inuyasha seemed to sense Miroku's current thoughts and his frown deepened. "I think this salve with help it heal even faster so that she won't even have to know."

Oh, well Miroku supposed that would solve things, if the so called healing 'salve" Inuyasha randomly turned up with actually worked. Actually, when and how had Inuyasha actually found that thing? He was dying to know. "So uh…" Miroku started, as he let a curious finger trail around the top of the bottle of healing salve Inuyasha continually dabbed onto his bruises. "Where did you get such a—whoa…" Miroku gasped in shock as he looked from the oddly orange colored salve on the counter to the also shocked face of the silver haired Hanyoi in the mirror, whose semi minor injuries had vanished—completely. "Potent salve?" He finished his question quietly, his eyes roaming in awe over Inuyasha's now flawless face.

Inuyasha gulped before composing himself. "It was a gift" he answered gruffly, still surprised at how fast the salve had healed him.

"Ooh, a gift from say a girl?" Miroku teased.

Inuyasha coughed, Ignoring Miroku, and wondered again where Kagome had found it and why she had given it to him. His thoughts traveled back to the other day when she had given the salve to him.

The sun was surprisingly warm that day, despite the fact that they were quite a ways into the fall. He had allowed the rays to settle on his face as he sat on the bench next to Kagome at break, listening to the light hum of the air conditioners working and the easy rhythmic sound of Kagome turning a page in her book every couple of minutes.

It was all lulling in a way, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so comfortable and lazy at school. He was pulled out of his lull however by the slight rising in the beat of Kagome's heart. He turned, curious to see what what was exciting, or possibly terrifying her. She was paused in the middle of turning a page of her book, she looked smug, a light agleam in her eyes as though she had just thought of something brilliant. Alright, so it was excitement, not fear the sped her heart as she then began to rummage through her book bag. He frowned in confusion as a wild smile took over her face as she pulled a small glass bottle with a jade stopper and slid it over to him without a word.

Inuyasha picked it up, assuming it was for him...as there was no one else around...and she had slid it to _his_ side of the bench...and finders keepers! He wondered what it was. "What's this Kagome?" He asked in a casual, straight forward way. And some how, her smile grew even wider, how big was her mouth, and why was a slight warmth to carrying over his chest? Oh no, he was NOT going to let her pretty smile distract him from the fact that she had not answered his question—something was up.

"Kagome" he now demanded impatiently tapping a finger on one of his crossed arms "tell me what this is!"

Kagome turned and smiled beguilingly at his pout, "It's a gift of course..." she answered vaguely.

His molten eyes lit up momentarily the fact that he had just received a gift from Kagome. Who didn't like gifts? Though, he quickly schooled his pleasure under a frown because although he had just been given a gift, she was also trying to be coy or provoke him or something girly and stupid, which was so not cool. "Girls and their stupid games" he muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?" Kagome asked, her brow quirking at his statement.

"I said thank you!" Inuyasha grunted quickly, he would not play along, he was better than that! Stupid girls and their games! stupid games! Stupid girls, he'd never understand them! stupid bottled thing that he didn't know anything about and probably never would! Stupid asprin bottles that never freaking open! Stupid, stupid, stupid-

"oh Inuyasha! Don't be upset" Kagome smiled, hmmm, she seemed to have gleamed from his scowl that he was not thinking very happy thoughts at the moment. "I was just playing around..." She explained, giggling heartily at his pouty face, which only deepened his scowl further; she was laughing at him, _him_! "Really, I'll tell you what it is! It's a healing salve I created" she elaborated, to his joy, and then continued in an ominous fashion. Joy gone "...in a super secret place" she said mysteriously "in a super secret way..."

Inuyasha, bristling with annoyance, grumpily watched her sit back to continue reading her book, effectively bringing the conversation to an end. Without thinking he turned toward her and asked sarcastically "uh, any chance in hell you'll tell me how you made it?"

He already knew her answer as she didn't even look up from her reading and replied happily "nope, but you'll find out."

"when?"

"I don't know" she shrugged, and then continued reading.

Hmm, mysterious. Well, that was that for now, _but__ then__…_ he wondered, _what__ was__ the __super__ secret__ way__ she __made__ the__ salve? _And how was he going to get the answer out of Kagome? Cause he was definitely going to get it out of her.

**O-O**

_A/N: Ohoho yes, how indeed will he get the answer out of Kagome? And what is this oh so secret place?...it seems that as one secret comes out, another is set into place. Mwahaha_


End file.
